


Special bonds

by andallthatjazz1984



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Character Death, F/F, Love, Magic, Swan Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 22:57:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 49,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5604106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andallthatjazz1984/pseuds/andallthatjazz1984
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma and Regina have always had a strained relationship. Can they overcome their differences and become something more? ;) Of course! It' Swan queen!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest fic I have ever written. I am not an experienced writer so please forgive any mistakes or poor writing choices.  
> Warning of a character death, not graphic.  
> Warning of graphic sex scenes.  
> I would really appreciate any comments and kudos if you feel this story deserves it.  
> Many thanks, and enjoy!!!

 

Emma Swan frowned at the sound of her alarm. With her face pressed firmly into her warm pillow, she blindly reached out to grab her phone. After several failed attempts at swiping her finger across the screen without opening her eyes, Emma let out a deep growl of annoyance as the alarm failed to stop. She finally lifted her head, opened one eye, focused on the phone and successfully swiped it into silence. Emma placed the phone back onto the bedside unit before stretching every aching muscle in her body. Last night’s shift had been pretty full on. Arresting a bunch of drunk and angry dwarves apparently came with some risks. It had taken Emma and David almost an hour to take control of the situation. During that time some punches had been thrown and there had been some take downs. She put her fingers to her mouth and hissed at the pain. Sneezy had taken a blind swing in the sheriff’s direction resulting in a split lip.

After a few more minutes, Emma reluctantly swung her legs out of bed and began her morning routine. She hopped into the boiling hot shower and let out a yelp before reaching out to control the searing temperature. Once it had reached a more comfortable level, Emma let the water cascade all around her, wincing when it hit some of her bruises. Feeling more awake and refreshed, the sheriff got dressed ready for another, hopefully quiet day as the Storybrooke sheriff.

As Emma entered the station she could see David talking on the phone whilst sat in the little office.

“I understand…I know… Could you please... Ok, ok someone will be with you shortly.”

David placed the phone back, puffed his cheeks out and allowed a loud sigh to escape.

“What’s up? Who were you talking to?”

David looked up as Emma entered the small space, a smile appearing on his face.

“Nice battle scar you’ve got there.”

“Ha ha. You didn’t fare much better by the looks of things.”

Emma pointed to an angry looking scratch which sat on her father’s cheek.

“Flesh wound. Anyway, that was Regina. Apparently someone vandalised the mansion. I’m just about to go over there.”

“Are they ok? Henry?” Emma couldn’t hide the panic in her voice.

“They are both fine from what I gather.”

“I’ll go. It will put my mind at rest to see Henry” and Regina Emma thought, but didn’t say.

“Ok, rather you than me anyway. Regina sounded furious.”

Emma was already half way to her car before he finished his sentence. She entered the cruiser and began the short, but quick journey to Mifflin Street.

The car came to an abrupt stop in front of the gate to the mayor’s mansion. Emma hurried herself along the path and pounded her fist on the large door. A few seconds later Emma could hear the sound of heels approaching from inside before the door swung open.

“Sheriff Swan, what are you doing here? I was under the impression that David was coming.”

Regina stood in the doorway with one hand on her hip and the other curled around the edge of the door.

“Um, well I was at the station when you called and I thought that... I um wanted to see if Henry was ok.”

“Henry is fine. He already left for school a while ago. He has no idea what happened here and I would appreciate it if you could manage to stop yourself from telling him.”

Emma nervously put her hands into the back pockets of her tight jeans and nodded in acknowledgment. She never used to feel like this in the presence of the mayor, but it had been happening more and more over that last few months.

Regina finally stepped aside from where she stood, silently inviting the nervous blonde inside.

As Regina lead the way into her study, Emma couldn’t help but take in the sight in front of her. As always she looked flawless, donning a tight black pencil skirt which stopped an inch above the knee along with a red silk blouse which had one too many buttons undone revealing the top of a black lace bra. Emma felt her cheeks begin to flush and quickly attempted to avert her eyes to anywhere other than the woman in front of her.

“Please, take a seat sheriff.”

Regina offered as she sat herself down on the edge of one of the chairs, tucking her legs under slightly and crossing her ankles.

“So, David said that there has been some vandalism here?”

Emma had managed to bury her nerves and was now in full sheriff mode.

“Yes. That is correct.”

“When did it happen?”

Regina cleared her throat before answering.

“I can only guess as to the time. It must have been between 3am and 6am.”

“Ok, what made you aware that someone was vandalising your property? Any damages, broken windows or anything?”

Regina shifted around on her seat.

“I haven’t found any major damage, no. As soon as I woke up at 6am, I knew.”

Regina pursed her lips together and brushed away invisible lint from her skirt.

“How did you know? Did you see or hear someone?”

“No, I could sense that someone had trespassed on my property.”

Emma stood up from her seat.

“Show me the damage.”

Regina rose and headed out of the study with Emma following closely behind. The sheriff caught herself gazing at the mayor’s toned calves as she made her way to the back door in the kitchen. She mentally chastised herself for the thoughts that were running through her mind. They stepped out into the garden and Regina turned around to face the house. Emma turned also and looked at the spray paint on the wall.

“Murderous witch? Well that’s original.”

Regina then pointed to some smashed pieces of stone, clearly the remains of some expensive garden ornaments.

“There is also some more spray paint just down there.”

Regina was now looking behind what once was a well cared for flower bed, but now clearly had been trampled on by the perpetrators. Emma then saw the smaller painted insult.

“Death to the queen? Little punks, I’m guessing it’s a bunch of bored brats egging each other on. I will send someone round soon to clear it off for you.”

“Thank you sheriff.”

Regina was already heading back in the house and making her way to the front door.

“Well, if there is nothing else you can tell me, I guess I will get back to the station and write up the report.”

Regina opened the door and allowed Emma to step outside.

“If I find anything else sheriff I will be in touch.”

Emma was just about to respond when the large door closed, leaving her stood on her own.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Emma sat herself down in her usual booth at granny’s, smiling at Ruby as she approached.

“Hey Emma, how’s tricks? Oh, what happened to your mouth?”

The waitress slid into the booth opposite Emma with a frown on her face.

“Work related injuries. Don’t ask.”

Ruby smirked. “Ok, I won’t. Anyway what can I get you? The usual?”

“Yep, the usual sounds great thanks Rubes.”

“Coming straight up.”

Ruby gave Emma a wink and headed into the kitchen.

Emma needed a hearty meal to prepare herself for the town meeting which she had to attend that evening. The only good thing about these meetings Emma thought was that she got to see Regina. She had wanted to be around the mayor more and more since the curse broke almost six months ago, but she couldn’t understand why until recently. She had realised that she had feelings for Regina after a particularly heated argument between the two of them about Henry. The tension between them had been unbearable for Emma and it took all of her willpower not to take the evil queen there and then. She was sure that Regina had felt it too that night, but it was never spoken of.

The arrival of Ruby with her food order broke Emma from her thoughts.

“Here you go Em, enjoy.”

“Mmm, thanks Ruby.”

Emma planned to eat her burger and fries in record time. She didn’t want to be late for the meeting, again.

Emma had managed to get totally lost in her thoughts and was still sitting in the diner when her phone vibrated on the table indicating a text message.

**Mary Margaret: Where the hell are you?**

Emma looked at the time on her phone, 7:10pm. The meeting started at 7pm.

“Oh crap!”

Emma ran as fast as she could to the town hall, which was no easy feat with a huge cheeseburger and fries sitting in her bloated stomach. She pushed her way through the large oak doors and was greeted by disgruntled faces and a sudden silence as everyone stopped to look at the flushed sheriff. Regina was currently the only other person standing in the room, clearly in the middle of addressing the townspeople.

“Sheriff Swan, how nice of you to finally join us. Please take a seat.”

Instead of sitting near the front with her mother like she normally would at these meetings, Emma quickly sat herself down on her own at the back.

Mary Margaret still had her head turned around looking at her daughter. Emma just gave a slight shrug of her shoulders and her mother turned back around.

Emma truly hated the town meetings. She would lose all interest of what was being discussed within five minutes of being there, apart from when the mayor was speaking of course. She paid pull attention then. Half way through, Emma received a text message. She pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket and was shocked to see the sender’s name on the screen.

**Regina: I forgot to ask earlier, what happened to your lip?**

Emma’s stomach was doing summersaults. She looked up and could only see the back of the mayor’s head.

**Emma: An angry dwarf, and no, it wasn’t grumpy. Shouldn’t you be paying attention to the guy up front madam mayor?**

**Regina: Unlike you, I can multi task. How did a dwarf even reach your face, Miss Swan?**

**Emma: Trust me I can multi task. I’m very talented. And in answer to your question, I was on my knees at the time.**

Emma realised this sounded odd, but it was too late.

**Regina: Oh? I think that may be a conversation for another time. I meant to ask you this morning, but Henry wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. Are you available?**

Emma couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on. She had never had messages from Regina about such things. They would normally be all business or Henry. She couldn’t get rid of the stupid grin which had appeared on her face.

**Emma: Well I wouldn’t want to disappoint the kid. Count me in.**

**Regina: Don’t feel obliged to come for Henry’s sake. He is old enough to understand if you don’t want to come.**

**Emma: No, sorry I didn’t mean it like that. I would love to come.**

**Regina: Very well.**

Emma assumed that the short reply was an indication that the conversation was over. She still couldn’t get over the spontaneous text conversation with the mayor. There was absolutely no hope of Emma paying attention to anymore of the meeting now. She had other things on her mind. She only realised the meeting had finished when Mary Margaret spoke to her.

“Emma are you ok? You were in a world of your own.”

“I’m ok, just thinking about stuff. How are you anyway?” Emma replied but her attention was taken away again by Regina who had just walked past them.

“I’m just fine thank you Emma, are you listening to me?”

“What? Um yes of course.”

“Okay, well you are clearly pre occupied so I will leave you to it. Oh, before I forget, your father and I wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow.”

Emma looked at her mother confused.

“But I live with you, so I wasn’t aware that an invitation was needed.”

Mary Margaret smiled kindly at her daughter.

“Of course you don’t need an invitation, honey, but I just wanted to make it formal. We thought it would be nice to have a family dinner together. You could ask Henry If he wants to come along too.”

“I would have loved to, but I already have dinner plans for tomorrow. Maybe another time?”

Mary Margaret couldn’t hide the look of disappointment in her eyes as she replied.

“Oh, no problem. We can do it another time. Anyway I have to get going. See you later, Emma.”

The brunette gave her daughter a brief hug goodbye before leaving.

A few moments later Emma turned to leave herself when she was stopped in her tracks by the sight of the mayor walking towards her. They were now the only people left in the hall.

“What did you say to your mother to upset her, Miss Swan? She looked positively miserable on her way out.” Regina asked with a side smile.

“Nothing, I was invited to dinner tomorrow and I told her that I couldn’t make it.”

“Did you tell her what you were doing instead?”

“No, I left out the details. She is emotional enough at the moment without me adding fuel to the fire.”

“Indeed. Anyway dinner will be ready at 7pm. Would it be too much to ask that you be punctual for once?”

“Jeez, so I turn up a little bit late for one or two meetings and now I have a reputation. I promise I will be there on time. Early in fact. Do you want me to bring anything?”

The pair had both unconsciously been taking tiny steps forward to close the gap between them until they were now close enough to brush shoulders.

“Just bring yourself, dear and don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I have _never_ broken a promise, madam mayor.”

“Hmm, we shall see.”

With a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Regina walked away leaving a bemused Emma standing alone.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

Emma spent most of the following day thinking about the upcoming dinner at the Mill’s mansion. She had never been invited for dinner there before now. The most Emma had received had been an offer of a drink after dropping Henry home one evening. That in itself had been a complete surprise to Emma. She had accepted the offer and was lead into the study where she was given a glass of apple cider. The conversation had been short and mostly about Henry, but it was civil.

Emma was sat in her office trawling through the internet trying to research what would be a good bottle of wine to take with her tonight. She was pretty clueless about wine, beer was more her thing. After at least an hour of searching she gave up, being none the wiser as to what to buy. She figured she would just ask for something decent in the store on her way home.

The day couldn’t have gone any slower for Emma. Nothing happened to pass the time, no phone calls, no visitors, nothing. She had also felt sick for most of the day at the thought of spending an evening with Regina. She felt like she was a teenager again waiting to go out on a date.

Five o’clock finally came and Emma said a brief goodbye to David before heading out. Her first stop was to pick up the wine. She had asked for something suitable to take for a dinner party and for someone with expensive tastes, but made it clear she was not willing to spend more than fifty dollars. She was finally offered a nice looking bottle of pinot noir which she accepted.

On her way home she passed the florists. She hadn’t planned on taking flowers, but she saw a lovely hand tied bunch of different coloured roses in the window. She realised that roses may appear to be a bit presumptuous, but she hoped that Regina would accept them for what they were, a simple thank you for the dinner invitation.

Emma made it home, eager to start getting ready to ensure her early arrival at Regina’s but was stopped by her mother. She had forgotten that Mary Margaret would be here when she was getting ready, clearly wanting to know details of her plans for the evening.

“Hey Emma, how was your day?”

Emma was already taking the small and slow steps towards the stairs, hoping to make this conversation as brief as possible.

“Yeah it was quiet. Not a lot going on in Storybrooke today.”

The brunette’s eyes were looking down at the roses and bottle of wine clutched in Emma’s hands. Here it comes Emma thought.

“Those are beautiful. Who are they for?”

“Oh, I’m just taking these along to the dinner party tonight.” Emma had one foot on the bottom step when the next inevitable question came her way.

“Who’s hosting the dinner party?”

Mary Margaret was clearly trying to sound nonchalant with her question, but Emma knew otherwise.

“Oh just a friend, look I really need to start getting ready.”

Emma had managed to climb another two steps when her mother spoke again.

“It’s _her_ isn’t it? You turned down your own family to spend time with that woman.”

Emma let her head hang down with her chin resting on her chest and let out a huge sigh. Her hands holding the flowers and bottle dropped to her sides. Emma was angry. It was taking a lot of will power to not scream across the room at Mary Margaret. When she realised this wouldn’t be the best option, she slowly turned and came back down the two stairs, standing back in the kitchen.

“I really haven’t got the energy to have this argument with you again, Mary Margaret. Firstly I was invited there before you asked me. Secondly she has a name, it won’t kill you to use it, and thirdly I am going there to spend time with my son.”

Her mother folded her arms across her chest and cleared her throat before replying.

“What about the roses? So they are for her?”

Emma’s tone became a little bit harsher now when she answered.

“For Regina, yes mom they are for Regina. There isn’t anything unusual about giving someone a gesture of thanks!”

Mary Margaret’s features softened slightly at the sound of her daughter calling her mom. She could count on one hand how often it had happened, but it never failed to fill her heart with equal amounts of joy and sorrow. She hated arguing with Emma, and so decided that she wouldn’t press the issue any further, for now.

“Okay, I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I will leave you to it.”

It was hard for her to walk away then, but that is what she did, allowing Emma to nod in agreement and finally make her way up the stairs to get ready. She was thankful that Mary Margaret clearly didn’t have the energy for an argument either.

After freshening up and re applying a little bit of makeup, Emma put on a clean pair of skin tight black jeans and a dark grey tank top, finishing the look with black boots and her trusty red leather jacket. Emma knew that Regina hated that jacket, and she wondered how long it would take for the mayor to make a comment about it.

With her gifts in tow, Emma made her way downstairs and picked up her keys from the kitchen counter. She looked around the apartment briefly but couldn’t see Mary Margaret, so she ended up leaving in silence.

The drive over to the house only took five minutes and when Emma pulled up outside and looked at the time on her phone, a smug smile appeared on her face. She got out of the bug, gifts in hand and walked down the pathway to the mansion. She hadn’t realised how nervous she was until she knocked on the door. She could hear the signature sound of heels approaching. The door opened and Emma was greeted with the sight of Regina. Wearing a pair of figure hugging black pants and low cut black top, Emma thought she looked incredible. Her hair was perfect with not a strand out of place.

“Miss Swan, I am genuinely shocked and impressed with the fact that you kept your promise.”

Regina raised an eyebrow and allowed a smile to form as she stepped away from the doorway to allow Emma to enter.

“I told you, I never break a promise.”

Emma retorted with a wink. Before Regina could respond, the blonde gingerly held out the flowers and bottle of wine.

“Here, um these are for you.”

It took Regina a few seconds to step forward and take the gifts. She was clearly shocked at the gesture.

“Thank you, dear. You shouldn’t have.”

Emma gave her a shy smile and shrugged. Regina walked into the kitchen and Emma followed behind. She saw Regina put her nose to the roses and inhale deeply before arriving at the sink.

“I will just put these in some water and then I shall get you a drink. Henry is upstairs in his room, could you please go up and ask him to wash up before dinner?”

Regina had already turned away and was tending to the roses, cutting at the stems to make them the perfect length for the vase.

“Sure, no worries.”

Emma left Regina in the kitchen and made her way up to Henry’s room. She gave the door a brief knock before pushing it open. Henry was sat on his bed with his book. Even though the curse had been broken, Henry couldn’t bear to be parted from it. He looked up at Emma with a huge toothy grin plastered his face.

“Emma! You came!”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed. Emma hugged him back and planted a kiss on his head.

“Hey Kid. Of course I came, this should be fun. Anyway your mom asked me to tell you to wash up before dinner.”

Henry nodded in acknowledgement and ran across the landing to the bathroom. Emma smiled at his enthusiasm at being asked to do such a mundane task.

Emma re-entered the kitchen and found Regina stirring something on the hob.

“Henry is just washing up now.”

“Thank you. Now what would you like to drink? I’m having wine, but if I remember correctly you don’t care for it much?”

Emma had sat herself down on one of the bar stools.

“Good memory. Wine gives me an instant headache. Do you have any beer?”

“I subconsciously knew you would want beer, so I got some in for you.”

Regina left the wooden spoon in the pot and went to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of ice cold beer for her guest. She removed the lid and handed it to Emma, their fingers brushing against each other only slightly, but enough for both women to look at said fingers before averting their gazes elsewhere.

“Thanks.”

“Would you like me to take your jacket, or were you going to make me look at it’s hideousness all evening?”

Emma laughed at the comment, not offended in the slightest.

“What’s so funny?”

Regina was eyeing Emma suspiciously.

“I had wondered how long it was going to take you to insult my jacket tonight. Turns out it didn’t take long at all.”

Emma was still smiling as she handed over her jacket to a frowning Regina who disappeared from sight with it slung over her arm.

Henry entered the kitchen and before he could take a seat next to Emma, Regina had asked him to set the table. He turned on his heel and did as he was asked. Regina informed Emma that she should go and take a seat at the table whilst she plated up.

Dinner had been pleasant, the two women mostly talking to Henry about his school work and other things. There had been no awkward silences, which had been one of Emma’s worst fears. After desert Henry went back upstairs to his room to do his homework, leaving both of his mothers to clear away.

Emma had just loaded the last bowl into the dishwasher as Regina offered her another beer. She almost declined, thinking about having to drive home but then decided that she would walk. She took the bottle and instantly started to pick at the label with her fingers. Regina had just poured herself another glass of wine, from the bottle Emma had bought she noticed. She waited to see if Regina would grimace at her choice of wine, but thankfully she took a sip and then another in quick succession indicating her approval. They both entered the study and sat down opposite each other. Emma was still picking at the label on her beer bottle and was staring out of the window, seeing nothing but darkness.

“Penny for your thoughts, dear?”

Emma was shaken out of her daze by Regina’s question.

“Oh, I was just thinking how nice this has been. Getting together, spending time with family.”

“And is that what we are, Miss Swan, Family?”

Emma was now looking shyly down at her hands.

“An unconventional one I guess, but yeah. Don’t you see us as a family, Regina?”

Regina took a large mouthful of wine before answering.

“I hadn’t really thought about it.”

Emma looked embarrassed at the comment before Regina added;

“But your right. We have become a sort of family.”

Emma let out a small sigh of relief and smiled at her host.

“We should do this more often, get together, the three of us.”

Regina finished the last of her wine before replying.

“Yes, dear. We should.”

Emma was conscious not to outstay her welcome and so she placed her empty bottle on the table next to her and stood.

“It’s getting late, I had better get going.”

Emma walked out into the foyer with her hands in her back pockets. Regina retrieved Emma’s jacket and called out to Henry to say goodbye. He appeared on the landing and waved down at Emma.

“See you later kid.”

With another smile he disappeared back into his room.

Emma was now stood in the open doorway and she pulled her jacket on as she felt the cool breeze against her skin.

“Thanks again, Regina. I had a really nice time.”

Regina gave Emma her most genuine smile and placed a hand on the blonde’s arm.

“You are most welcome. I had a nice time too. And thank you for the roses and wine, it was very thoughtful.”

Regina removed her hand and Emma craved its presence instantly.

“Goodnight, Regina.”

Emma had turned and was starting to walk down the path and she heard Regina behind her.

“Goodnight, Emma.”

She turned and smiled at Regina before continuing out of the gate. Regina had never called her by her first name before. Emma was grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole walk home.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

Thankfully when Emma entered her apartment, Mary Margaret was nowhere to be seen. She wasted no time in hurrying up the stairs to her room. She didn’t want her mother to make a last minute appearance and ruin the happy mood she was in. Without removing her boots or jacket, Emma fell back onto the bed with her legs hanging off the side. She placed her hands on her stomach which was still in knots and smiled whilst looking up at the ceiling.

She was definitely making progress with Regina. They were becoming more open with each other, which is exactly what Emma had wanted. Well, Emma wanted a lot more than that but she was happy for now to just be heading in the right direction.

She took her phone out of her pocket and went to her text messages, looking over the ones from Regina the day before during the meeting. Emma was tempted to send another message now, but she resisted the urge. She didn’t want to push her luck.

Little did she know that Regina was sat in her study with her own phone in hand, contemplating the same thing.

Emma woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. It made her stomach growl. She rubbed at her tired eyes and hesitantly made her way down stairs wearing a white vest and grey sweat pants. Mary Margaret was plating up the bacon and had now started on making scrambled eggs. She briefly looked at Emma and smiled.

“Good morning, sweetie. Hungry?”

Emma was confused at her mother’s good mood, but she wasn’t going to complain.

“I’m starving.”

Emma sat herself down at the table and poured herself a generous cup of coffee. After taking the first sip which left a pleasant burn in her throat, Mary Margaret placed down the bacon, eggs and toast in the centre of the table. She then took a seat next to her daughter and began to add some of the food onto her plate.

“Help yourself, there is plenty here.”

Mary Margaret was being her usual cheerful self. This both pleased and confused Emma in equal measure. She plated up a large portion of the food for herself and started eating greedily.

Her mother laid her cutlery down and shifted in her seat slightly so she was facing her daughter better.

“Emma, I owe you an apology. About last night, it is none of my business where you go and who you see. I over reacted. I still find it hard to get my head around the fact that you are so forgiving of her, of Regina. But it is your choice and I won’t ever question you for doing so again.”

Emma had stopped eating now and took her mother’s hands in her own.

“Thank you, mom. I really appreciate that.”

The pair smiled at each other before going in for a brief hug. They pulled away when it was starting to feel a little bit awkward for Emma. She had always had some trouble with this kind of thing. It was probably because she never had much affection shown to her as a child.

“So what are your plans for today?”

Mary Margaret asked before wrapping her hands around her mug.

“I’m taking Henry out. I don’t know where yet, I will let him decide.”

The two women finished their breakfasts in comfortable silence before going their separate ways for the day.

Thanks to her great mood caused by a mixture of last night, her mother’s apology and a killer breakfast, Emma practically skipped up the path leading to 108 mifflin street.

After a few knocks on the door it opened slowly revealing a tired looking Henry wrapped up in a dark blue dressing gown.

“Hey Kid, everything alright?”

Emma was now looking down at her son with a concerned expression on her face.

“I’m sick. I can’t go out with you today.”

Henry informed her with a nasally voice. He sniffed loudly before wiping his noise with a tissue.

“Oh, sorry to hear that kid. Where’s your mom?”

“She’s in the kitchen making me some soup. She always makes it when I’m sick. She said you could spend some time here with me today if you want?”

Emma nodded her head and entered the house. She could spend time with both Henry and Regina. It was a win win.

“I’m going to put a movie on soon. Will you watch it with me?”

“Sure, Henry, I would love to. Why don’t you go and chill out for a bit, I’m going to speak to your mom.”

Henry did as he was asked, sniffing and coughing his way to the lounge.

Emma entered the kitchen in silence but Regina knew she was there anyway and turned to greet her.

“Good morning. I take it Henry told you that he can’t go out today?”

Emma made her way further into the kitchen, grinning slightly at how cute Regina looked wearing a little apron and stirring soup.

“Yeah, he said it was cool to spend some time with him here today instead. He wants to watch a movie. Is it ok with you if I stay?”

Regina flashed Emma a beautiful smile.

“Of course it is, dear. Why don’t you go and help Henry set up the DVD whilst I finish up in here.”

The smile never left Regina’s face. It was enough to make Emma a little weak at the knees. She returned a shy grin and made her way to the lounge to find Henry.

He was already curled up on one of the sofas holding on to a remote control. She could see when she turned to look at the television that the movie was all ready to go, just awaiting everyone’s presence.

Emma removed her boots and took them into the foyer where she put them down next to a pair of Henry’s trainers. When she returned to the lounge Regina was in there closing all of the curtains making the room darker and cosier.

Emma slumped herself down next to Henry on the couch and got comfy. At the same time Regina pulled out a large blanket from behind a chair and laid it over Henry. Emma was then surprised when Regina took the seat next to her, filling the couch completely. She had thought that Regina would end up sitting on her own in one of the armchairs. She was thankful that she didn’t. Regina tucked her feet up underneath herself and leaned on the arm of the chair, clearly making a conscious effort to not be in Emma’s personal space.

Emma then reached next to her and unfolded the blanket before draping over herself and Regina. The dark haired woman smiled and tucked the blanket around herself more snugly.

“So Henry, what movie have you picked this time?”

Regina already knew the answer though. There was only one film that Henry always wanted to watch when he was ill.

“Labyrinth. I haven’t watched it in like forever.”

Emma calmly spoke up then.

“What’s it about?”

Both Regina and Henry turned their heads quickly and stared at the blonde like she was an alien.

“You have never seen Labyrinth?! Mom, can you tell her what it’s about please?”

Henry laid his head back down and coughed into his hand.

“I think it might be best for Emma to just watch it, Henry.”

Henry then started the movie and dropped the remote to the floor.

Halfway through Emma turned to look at Henry who had just started to snore softly.

“He lasted longer than I thought he would. Sometimes he’s lucky if he makes it through the opening credits.” Regina had turned to look at Emma.

“I can turn it off now if you want?”

Emma smiled and got more comfy.

“Are you kidding me? This is great!”

Regina couldn’t help but smile herself at the blonde’s enthusiasm. Regina froze for a moment after she had moved as she realised that her leg was resting slightly on top of Emma’s. She took a glance at Emma’s face and could see that she was no longer looking at the screen in-front of her. She was looking down at her hands which were cupped together on top of the blanket. Regina quickly moved her leg away, trying to make it look like she was just uncomfortable. She was thankful for the dimness of the room otherwise Emma would be able to see her flushed cheeks.

A little while later it was Emma’s turn to rest her leg on Regina’s. Emma hadn’t even realised at first, but when she did she made no attempt to move it. She wasn’t going to move unless Regina did first. To her delight she didn’t, not until the end of the movie.

They removed the blanket from themselves but left it covering Henry who was still sound asleep. Regina turned the television off and went into the kitchen. Emma stretched her arms above her head before following Regina.

“I’m going to get Henry a bowl of soup ready for when he wakes up. Would you like to stay for lunch?”

“I would love to.”

“Would you like some soup, or I can make you something else if you prefer?”

Emma went over to the stove where Regina was heating the large pot of soup. She looked into the pot and inhaled the aroma that was circulating upwards.

“Mmm, that smells delicious. I would love some of that please.”

Regina made her way around the kitchen retrieving three bowls and three spoons. When the soup had heated thoroughly, she ladled it into each of the bowls being careful not to spill any on the work counter. Regina then disappeared to go and wake Henry up for lunch. They all took a seat in the dining room and got stuck into their meals. Henry only managed half a bowl as he winced at his sore throat every time he swallowed. He excused himself from the table and returned to his makeshift bed on the couch.

After Emma had helped Regina clear away the few items that had been used for lunch, she decided that she would say her goodbyes.

“Well, I think I better let Henry get his rest.”

Emma was already in the process of putting on her boots in the foyer when Regina joined her and watched as the blonde bent over to tie up the thin laces.

“You can come back tomorrow if you wish. To see Henry.”

Regina added as an afterthought.

“Sure, I’ll do that. Will you text me later to let me know how he is doing?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you for today, and lunch.”

Without thinking Emma stepped forward and placed a quick kiss on Regina’s cheek. Both women looked a little shocked for a second before Regina broke the silence.

“It was my pleasure. I will be in touch later, Emma.”

And with that Emma left the mansion, and Regina, who was stood staring at the closed door with her fingers on her cheek where Emma’s lips had been a few moments before.

 

It was early evening now and Regina had just put a very tired Henry to bed. He hadn’t eaten much more since lunch, choosing to just drink water instead. Regina stood on the landing and yawned. She hadn’t realised how tired she felt herself. She couldn’t even be bothered to venture back downstairs to turn off all of the lights. So with a flick of her wrist, a tiny amount of purple tendrils left her fingers and the job was done. She set about her night time routine, showering and brushing her teeth before putting on a silk nightdress. She got herself under the covers of her bed and opened a black case which was on the nightstand. Regina then retrieved her reading glasses, slid them onto her face and then picked up her phone. She had told Emma that she would text her to talk about Henry.

**Regina: Good evening**

Emma had replied within seconds. She must have been waiting for this message.

 **Emma: Hey, good evening.** **How’s Henry?**

**Regina: Asleep. He was coughing less so that’s a start.**

**Emma: Yeah that’s good.**

Regina wasn’t sure where to go from here. So she just sent the first thing that came into her head, then regretted it.

**Regina: What are you doing?**

Regina slapped her hand over her glasses and shook her head.

“What the hell Regina?” She asked herself.

**Emma: Nothing, I’m in bed. You?**

**Regina: I’m in bed too.**

Regina didn’t like the way this was sounding. She needed to change the subject and quick. Emma replied before she got the chance.

**Emma: What are you wearing?.... Joke**

Regina stared at the message on her phone for a moment. Was she actually contemplating carrying on with this conversation?

**Emma: Regina? I swear I was only joking.**

**Regina: I know.**

No, this had to stop. She couldn’t risk a friendship over some silly flirty text messages. Back to business.

**Regina: I’m very tired Miss Swan, it’s been a long day. I shall see you tomorrow I’m sure.**

**Emma: Back to Miss Swan already? Sorry if I offended you. Night.**

Regina wanted to say that no, she hadn’t offended her and that she only called her Miss Swan to lead her away from the scent. The scent being that she might actually have feelings for Emma. But she didn’t tell her any of those things. She put her phone down and took off her glasses, placing them next to it.

Regina had such conflicting feelings about Emma Swan. There are times when she still can’t stand to be in the same room as her, but then there are times when they have a connection. Like when Emma kissed her cheek today and Regina’s stomach had done somersaults. She had realised that she was enjoying the blonde’s company more lately. Regina made a promise to herself there and then that she wouldn’t act on any of these feelings unless she was 100% sure of what she felt.

Across town Emma was still reading over the few messages that she had exchanged with Regina earlier. She knew that asking what Regina was wearing, even if it was a joke, was a bad idea. She wasn’t the kind of person who made light of such things. Emma wished more than anything that she could take that message back. When Regina had called her Miss Swan, Emma’s stomach dropped to the floor. Those two words were an indication that their friendship had taken a couple of steps backwards. God damn text messages, she thought. She knew that she would have some extra work to do now to get back to where they were.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

Emma wasted no time in going back to the mayor’s mansion the next day. The sooner she got back on track with Regina the better. As she stood waiting for someone to answer the door, she hoped that perhaps Regina’s message last night had been a one off and that today things would be back to normal. The door opened quickly and one look at Regina told Emma that things certainly were not back to normal. She could see the invisible walls that Regina had built up around her, just like she had months ago.

“Can I help you, sheriff?”

Well, at least she didn’t call me Miss Swan, Emma thought.

“I came back to see Henry. You said yesterday that I could.”

Regina didn’t say anything for a moment. Instead she let out a sigh and walked back into the house.

“You can’t stay long. Henry needs his rest.”

Regina’s tone was cold and emotionless. This was going to be harder than Emma first thought.

“Are you ok, Regina?”

The mayor turned and plastered on a fake professional smile.

“I’m absolutely fine, dear. Why would you ask?”

Emma hated it when Regina did that. Putting a mask on and hiding her true feelings behind it. This was how Emma remembered Regina being when she first came to Storybrooke. It made her angry.

“Cut the crap Regina! This clearly has something to do with what I said last night. Just admit it, instead of acting like this.”

Regina’s smile never faltered.

“I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.”

Emma saw red. There was something about the belittling tone and patronising smile which made Emma’s blood boil. She reached forward, grabbed Regina’s wrist and pulled her into the study shutting the door behind her, not wanting Henry to hear what was going on. Now when Emma looked at the mayor she could see confusion and anger, gone was the infuriating smile.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?! Let go off me right now!”

Emma knew that she should just do as requested. This wasn’t going to end well, but she was too far gone to stop herself.

“Not until you admit what your problem with me is! I’ve come here today and you are a totally different woman to who I spent the day with yesterday! What is going on with you?”

Suddenly Emma cried out in pain as the hand which she was holding onto Regina with was invisibly forced from the mayor’s wrist and twisted in an unnatural way.

“You will not say another word to me _Miss Swan_. You will leave right now before I break your wrist.”

To emphasise her point, Emma’s wrist was twisted a little bit more, making a tear fall from her eye. She was in no doubt that Regina wasn’t bluffing. She opened the door to the study and stormed out. Just as she was halfway out of the front door she heard Regina speak behind her.

“You are no longer welcome here. You will not be seeing Henry until I decide you can. Now get the hell off my property.”

Emma didn’t bother to argue, instead continuing down the path with the tears flowing freely now down her flushed cheeks.

Regina watched Emma leave before shutting the door. She went straight into her study and poured herself a tumbler of whisky. She drank the brown liquid in one gulp and poured another serving into the glass. She took it and sat herself down at her desk. She slammed the glass down and ran her fingers through her hair. Her hands were visibly shaking now. She glanced down at her wrist and could see the red marks where Emma’s fingers had been minutes before. Regina tried to take some deep breaths to calm herself down, but it was too late. A second later she began to sob hysterically into her hands. She was so frustrated with herself for using her magic to harm someone, especially Emma, but she couldn’t control it. She had been so close to actually breaking the blonde’s wrist. She knew why she lost control. It was because Emma had restrained her. The second she felt the tight grip around her wrist it had brought dark memories to the surface. Memories of her late husband holding her down with her hands above her head, unable to move as he had his way with her. She would cry silently throughout but he paid no attention to her sorrow.

She eventually stifled her sobs and wiped the wetness from her face with the back of her hands. Regina left the study to check on Henry. She hoped that he hadn’t heard any of what had been said. She needn’t have worried as he was fast asleep in his bed, in what looked like the same position he was in when she looked in on him an hour before. She entered his room quietly and placed a loving kiss on his head before leaving again. Regina returned to her study and proceeded to drink the remainder of what was in her glass. She knew she owed Emma a huge apology, but she wasn’t ready to do so just yet. She needed to get her emotions in check first.

 

Emma had gone straight home, thankful that it was a school day and that she didn’t have to face Mary Margaret. As soon as she entered the apartment she shut the door behind her and slid down it, pulling her knees up and allowing her arms to rest on them. She began crying once again, but not as uncontrollably as earlier. Emma kept replaying the events in her mind over and over. She started to rub her injured wrist lightly, bruising had already appeared. It had hurt her to drive home, every turn of the wheel had made her wince in pain. She sat and thought that maybe something like this was meant to happen. Things were going far too well between herself and Regina, and it was only a matter of time before something came between that. She just wished that it hadn’t been something so drastic. But looking back on what had developed the night before, had it been that drastic? Certainly the outcome this morning had fit that description, but the cause? Some playful text messages? It didn’t add up. Something else was clearly going on.

Emma got herself up from the floor and went in search of something to drink from the kitchen. She pulled out a bottle of vodka from a cupboard and then found a shot glass. Two shots later she went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer. She downed the drink in a matter of seconds and did the same thing with another bottle straight after. Emma didn’t know what to do with herself. She was pacing around the apartment trying to think of a solution to her problem. She wasn’t successful. Regina’s words kept ringing through her head. The anger in her voice and disgusted look on her face had broken Emma’s heart a little. Here they were, back to square one and she wasn’t even sure if they would get past this. Emma had a bitch of a headache so hunted for something that would help. She finally found some Advil which she took with another shot of vodka. She knew this wasn’t a good combination but she didn’t really care.

Emma woke up groggily, her eyes stinging from the amount of crying she had done earlier. She looked at the time and saw that her mother would be home any minute. She had to leave. She wouldn’t be able to pretend that she was ok and she didn’t want to explain what had happened either. She ran down the stairs and wrote a quick note for Mary Margaret explaining that she was out for the night and for her not to wait up for her. Emma then quickly put the bottle of vodka which she had left out on the side back in the cupboard and picked up her keys. She knew that she shouldn’t drive, but she figured she would be ok making the short journey to the rabbit hole. It would appear that the sleep had sobered Emma up anyway as she couldn’t really feel the effects of the alcohol anymore.

She parked her bug up around the corner and then entered the bar. There were only a couple of other people in there and she didn’t recognise any of them. She assumed it was so quiet due to how early it still was. She was going to have to pace herself if she was going to stay here for the rest of the day. She bought herself a beer and found a table at the back of the room which was hidden from sight.

 

It was 11pm and the bar had become pretty busy. Emma was still sat at her table nursing a beer. She was absolutely wasted and was struggling to keep her eyes open. She had been building up the courage to go and confront Regina for the past two hours. To give her a piece of her mind and let her know that she wouldn’t get away with what she had done to her. Emma swallowed the last dregs from the bottle and stumbled out of the bar. Nobody had paid her any attention which she was grateful for.

It took Emma just over thirty minutes to finally arrive outside the mansion’s door. She started hammering her fists hard against the wood, hissing at the pain in her injured wrist. She was still banging as the door flew open and Emma stumbled inside. The look on Regina’s face would have been comical under different circumstances. It was a look of pure shock and disgust.

“What the hell do you think you are doing turning up here at this hour?!”

“I came here to talk about today…”

Emma was slurring her words quite badly.

“You’re drunk, Miss Swan, I suggest you go home and sober up before we both do or say something we might regret.”

Emma laughed and slapped her hand against her thigh.

“A little too late for that wouldn’t you say, Regina?”

Emma looked up and stared at the woman in-front of her then for the first time since she entered the house. She first looked down and spotted the angry red marks around the woman’s wrist. She then let her mouth hang open slightly as she took in the sight of Regina. Her eyes were red and puffy, not an ounce of make-up was on her face and she just looked so young, innocent and full of sorrow. It took Emma’s breath away and before she could mutter another word, she collapsed to her knees and began to cry her heart out.

Regina stood over Emma and had the overwhelming urge to pull her into her arms and comfort her. So that’s exactly what she did. Regina matched Emma’s position on the floor, placing one hand on the blonde’s shoulder and the other cupping itself around the back of Emma’s neck. Regina then pulled her closer until a mass of blonde hair was resting against her chest. Emma never hesitated, allowing herself to be drawn into the warmth of Regina’s body. She wrapped her arms around her waist and continued to cry freely.

Regina could do nothing but hold the blonde close and rub small circles with her hands across her back, sometimes smoothing them over her hair.

“Shhh, its ok Emma. I’m here.”

A few random tears ran down Regina’s own face now. The pair remained in the same position until Emma’s sobs slowed down to barely audible sniffles. Emma moved away first, suddenly feeling embarrassed about the state she had got herself into. She tried to stand and swayed on her feet. Regina instantly wrapped an arm around her waist for support.

“I’m sorry, um I should go.”

Emma was heading towards the front door when she felt Regina take hold of her hand and turn her around.

“I think you should stay here tonight. I don’t want you wandering around town like this. You are welcome to sleep in the guest bedroom.”

Emma didn’t even bother to argue, so she allowed herself to be guided up the stairs still holding tightly to Regina’s hand.

They entered the bedroom and both women sat down on the bed. Regina was still holding Emma’s hand.

Knowing that Emma was going to have one hell of a hangover, Regina pointed a hand to the bedside unit and a bottle of water and two tablets appeared.

“You should take those before you go to sleep.”

Emma nodded and then popped the pills in her mouth followed by a large mouthful of the cold water. Without speaking Regina began to help Emma undress. She removed her jacket and boots, then helped the blonde pull her top up over her head. She undone the button and pulled down the zip on her jeans after she saw how it hurt Emma’s wrist to do it herself. Finally in just her underwear Emma got in the bed and Regina pulled the covers over her body.

“I’m just down the hall. Come and get me if you need anything.”

Emma nodded in acknowledgment.

“Just rest now, Emma. Everything is ok. We can talk in the morning.”

                                            “Regina, I’m sorr…”                    

Regina held her hand up to stop Emma from continuing.

“It’s ok. Don’t think about it now. Just sleep.”

“Goodnight, Regina. Thank you.”

Regina gave Emma a small smile and left the room.

Regina checked on Henry, giving him a light kiss atop his head before entering her bedroom. She didn’t even bother to undress or do any of her normal nightly routines. She simply laid herself down on the bed, rested her hands on her stomach and stared at the ceiling. So many thoughts were running through her mind and it was driving her crazy. She knew that she wouldn’t get a minute of sleep tonight. All she could see was Emma and the grief stricken look on her face as she had fallen to her knees before her. It had broken her heart to see the blonde so distraught. Although she knew that Emma was intoxicated, Regina knew that the emotions she had shown at that moment were all her own.

Any doubt that Regina had in her mind about her feelings for Emma were brushed aside this evening. A line had been crossed in her heart and she couldn’t go back now. The problem she now faced was deciding how to act upon her emotional discovery.

She had suspicions that Emma may indeed feel the same way about her, the way she blushed in her presence, the way her eyes would betray her and glance at her exposed flesh, and the way she would stumble to get her words out when Regina was making direct eye contact with her. But these things didn’t necessarily mean that the saviour had feelings for her. It could simply mean that she sometimes felt uncomfortable in her presence, just like many other people did. Even if they did feel the same way about each other, there was no way that she could do anything about it, could she? She had to think of the repercussions of such actions. What about Henry? He would no doubt accuse her of casting a spell on his birth mother, making her want to be with the evil queen.

Regina sat herself up on the bed and shook her head. She was getting way ahead of herself, her mind working overtime. She needed to stop coming to her own conclusions. She would have to wait until she spoke to Emma in the morning to figure out what the next step would be.

Try as she might to switch off to her thoughts, Regina found it impossible. Different scenarios were playing in her head, such as Emma’s reaction if she confessed her true feelings for her, and how snow and charming would react. She had to admit that she found the latter scenario rather amusing and had chuckled out loud.

Several hours passed like this, with Regina’s imagination and thoughts running wild. Her eyes hurt so much from crying and a lack of sleep. She decided to go and make herself some hot cocoa, if it didn’t help her sleep then it would at least give her something to do. She crept down to the kitchen, still wearing her clothes from yesterday and proceeded to go about making her beverage. Whilst she was warming the milk on the hob, Regina heard light footsteps on the stairs. Part of her wished that it was Henry so she could just send him back to bed, but she knew that those footsteps belonged to Emma. Regina was looking at the doorway awaiting the blonde’s arrival which happened seconds later. Emma looked exhausted. Her hair was wild in places and there were small black marks on her face, the result of her mascara running when she had cried. She was no longer in just her underwear, clearly getting dressed again before coming downstairs. She took a few steps inside the kitchen and stopped.

“Would you like some cocoa?”

Regina was already fetching another mug before waiting for Emma’s answer. Emma just gave a small nod of her head in response.

“Come and sit down, Emma.”

Regina sat herself down on one of the stools, placing one of the mugs next to her, in-front of where she expected Emma to sit. The blonde took her place and looked shyly at Regina.

“I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

Her voice was gravely from crying and alcohol.

“Join the club, dear. Maybe the cocoa will help.”

Both women sat and drank their hot chocolate in silence, neither feeling the need to speak to the other. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it felt peaceful. When they had both finished, Regina took both of the empty mugs and placed them in the sink. She then walked back over to Emma and without even thinking about it, took her by the hand.

“Let’s try and get some sleep.”

Emma smiled and allowed herself to be led back up the grand staircase. Emma was about to re-enter the guest bedroom when she hesitated and turned on her heel.

“Regina, you can say no if it makes you uncomfortable, but could I stay with you? I don’t want to be alone.”

Emma looked straight to the floor the moment the words left her mouth, clearly embarrassed for actually asking this of Regina.

“You mean in my bed?”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…it was stupid. Don’t worr..”

“Of course you can.”

The blonde woman looked up then, clearly shocked at Regina’s answer. Once again, like downstairs Regina held her hand out for Emma to take it, which she did.

Once inside her bedroom Regina Pointed out which side of the bed Emma should take before she entered the bathroom. When she re-entered the bedroom she was wearing a blue silk nightdress which stopped above the knee. Emma was already in the bed and under the covers. Regina looked to the floor beside the bed and saw Emma’s clothes, meaning that she was once again in her underwear.

With all the grace of a queen, Regina got herself into the bed, sliding down and turning on her side to face Emma.

She reached out and tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind Emma’s ear. Regina then surprised herself by leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on Emma’s forehead.

“Goodnight, Emma.”

She smiled at her bed guest before turning around, reaching out for the lamp and plunging them into darkness, leaving Emma wide eyed and her mouth slightly agape.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

The morning sun was shining through a few small cracks in the curtains of Regina’s room. Emma woke to the bright light hitting her eyelids which made her squint. She let out a throaty groan and turned onto her stomach in an attempt to protect her sore eyes from the sunlight. Emma stretched her legs, stopping just before she gave herself a cramp and inhaled deeply into the pillow. She took in the sweet scent and the memory of where she was came back to her. Emma quickly looked to the space beside her and was both relieved and disappointed to find it empty. She sat herself upright and rubbed her tired eyes before swinging her legs out of the bed. She noticed that her clothes had been neatly folded and placed on a nearby chair. Also Sat on top of her clothes was a toothbrush and a white fluffy towel was hanging over the arm of the chair. Emma retrieved all of the items and went into the bathroom.

She proceeded to brush her teeth and whilst doing so gave herself a long hard look in the mirror. Her appearance had certainly seen better days and she frowned at the thought that Regina had seen her like this. Emma then took a long, hot shower, using a nearby shower gel which just smelled like Regina in a bottle. She generously lathered the liquid over her skin before rinsing it off. She had been careful not to get her hair wet, knowing what it would look like if not tended to properly afterwards. All she could do was run a brush through it which she had found under the sink, making a conscious effort to remove any lingering hair from it before putting it back where she had found it. Emma dried her body using the ridiculously soft towel and got herself dressed, noticing that her clothes smelled much fresher than they had last night. Whether it had been magic or old fashioned laundering, Emma was grateful for Regina’s thoughtfulness. She hung the towel over one of the rails on the wall and left the bathroom, feeling much more like herself.

Emma quickly made her side of the bed, and on inspection when comparing the two sides, not to Regina’s normal standards, but she figured it would have to suffice. Finally Emma fully opened the curtains, tying them back using the small holders and then walked onto the landing. The smell of pancakes and coffee hit her instantly and she couldn’t help herself from practically sprinting down the stairs and into the kitchen. Regina was in the process of turning over a pancake when Emma walked in.

“You sounded just like our son, running down the stairs like that.”

Emma let out a small chuckle and took a seat, watching as Regina added the pancake she had just flipped to the stack which was already platted up.

“Talking of Henry, is he here? Does he know I’m here?”

Regina was heading towards the dining room with the plate of pancakes, Emma following closely behind.

“Henry is at school. He felt much better when he woke up this morning. And no, he wasn’t aware that you were here.”

Emma nodded and helped herself to two large blueberry pancakes and then took great pleasure in smothering them with maple syrup. Just as she picked up her fork, Emma looked over at Regina.

“I guess we have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

Regina peered over her cup of coffee at Emma.

“Indeed we do, but there will be plenty of time for that. Right now, why don’t we just enjoy breakfast?”

Regina flashed the blonde an award winning smile which made Emma promptly drop her fork onto her plate.

Regina giggled before tucking in to her own pancakes, the pair once again sitting in a comfortable silence.

Once breakfast had been cleared away Regina suggested that they go into the lounge to talk. Emma’s nerves were now kicking in, making her palms sweat. She was rubbing them against her jeans as she sat on the sofa. Regina took the seat next to her, turning so that they were facing each other.

“How did you sleep last night?”

“Yeah about that, I wanted to apologise. I would never ask to share your bed Regina, I was drunk and wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Ok, but how did you sleep?”

Emma frowned slightly in confusion at the simple question being asked. She hesitated before answering.

“After I fell asleep, I didn’t wake up until this morning. Why?”

“After I first left you last night in the guest bedroom, I couldn’t sleep at all. I felt beyond tired but I remained awake. Once you got into my bed, I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.”

“It was probably the cocoa, it must have helped us sleep.”

Regina tilted her head to the side and rolled her eyes.

“I think we both know that’s not true.”

Emma let out an exasperated sigh.

“I felt safe. There was something about us just being close to each other which just felt right. Do you know what I mean?”

Emma waited for Regina to deny understanding what she was saying, but to her surprise, she didn’t.

“Yes, I know exactly what you mean because I felt the same way.”

“What’s happening between us, Regina? What is this?”

“I honestly don’t know, Emma. Friendship? Companionship? Or maybe something more. I think it’s time that we become brutally honest with each other about our feelings.”

Emma nodded, knowing that she was going to have to come clean sooner or later. She strongly feared rejection, but it was too late now. What would be, would be.

“I care for you, Regina, a lot in-fact. It’s not just a physical attraction, although you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”

Regina blushed, but smiled at Emma’s words, allowing the blonde to continue.

“Anyway, like I was saying. It’s more than just a physical thing. It might sound strange but I feel a connection between us. I feel happier when I’m around you.”

Emma’s eyes fell to her lap, no longer able to look at the woman sat only inches away from her. As she looked down, she saw a hand reach for her own. When she still didn’t look up, soft fingers reached under her chin and guided her head up so that she was eye level with Regina. She felt herself getting lost in the richness of those dark eyes, unable to find a way back again, and not really wanting to.

Before Emma even realised what was happening, Regina had closed the gap between them and was pressing her full lips against Emma’s own. She instinctively let her mouth open a little to enable her to deepen the kiss. She feared that her heart might never find its natural rhythm again seeing as it was beating so fast. Regina’s hand was still holding onto her chin gently and their fingers had intertwined together in her lap. A moment later their lips parted from each other and Emma instantly felt the urge to reunite them, needing to taste the sweetness of Regina’s mouth again. But she stopped herself, suddenly being desperate to know what the other woman was thinking. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Both just staring at each other intently. Emma was the first to break the silence.

“Jesus, Regina, say something.”

Regina was no longer looking at Emma. Her attention had been drawn to their hands which they were still connected by. Emma followed Regina’s line of sight down to their hands, where she saw a white glow pulsating around them.

“What the hell is this?”

Emma’s tone had risen in pitch as she gawped at her hands. She finally looked up at Regina who was still looking at the light, with a small smile on her face.

“It’s magic, very light and pure. I have seen this before many years ago. It indicates a strong and unbreakable bond.”

“Oh.”

It was all Emma could manage to say.

Now Regina once again let her attention go back to Emma.

“It is a very rare and beautiful thing, Emma. I knew that something was going on between us, but I never could have imagined this.”

“But what does it mean for us in terms of our um, relationship?”

“No matter what direction our relationship goes, whether it remains a friendship or progresses further, it simply means that the magic between us will always be present.”

“Ok and what is your opinion on our relationship?”

The words had left Emma’s mouth before she could even think about stopping them. Regina furrowed her brow slightly before answering.

“Well, I don’t want to put a label on what we are right now. I feel it would be best to just see how things play out between us.”

Emma nodded but clearly couldn’t hide the look of disappointment on her face before Regina spoke again.

“Please don’t misunderstand me, dear. I care for you a great deal, and I want more than anything for us to develop what we have together. I just don’t wish to put any pressure on ourselves.”

Emma felt the panic that had built up subside a little at Regina’s words. At least she wasn’t being rejected as she had first feared.

Regina could sense that Emma was still concerned by the lost look on her face. She took both of Emma’s hands in her own and held them tightly.

“Emma listen to me. This will not be an easy road to travel. There will be obstacles in the way, there are people in this town who would object greatly to this. We will no doubt argue and there may be times when we question our actions, but I know that I still want to take that journey with you, no matter what the final destination may be. That’s all I can offer you for now Emma, if you will accept?”

Emma’s eyes had misted over as she listened to Regina.

“Yes of course I will. I mean, I want that too.”

Regina wiped away an errant tear from Emma’s cheek and once again leaned forward until the blonde could feel her warm breath against her face. Her hand was now palmed around the back of Emma’s head.

“May I?”

Regina’s voice was low and gravely, making Emma’s stomach do a flip. She couldn’t help but find Regina’s gesture of asking permission before kissing her incredibly cute. The blonde nodded and then started to say,

“Regina, you don’t have to ask permission to kis….”

But her words were cut short by the pressure of Regina’s mouth pressed against hers. Emma let out a moan of pleasure as she felt Regina’s tongue slip into her mouth and slide against her teeth. Emma’s own tongue sought out Regina’s and once found caressed it gently. It was Regina’s turn to release a whimper right into the blonde’s mouth, and Emma knew that she would never tire of hearing that sound for as long as she lived.

A few moments later they were once more sat back on the sofa after managing to break their glorious kiss.

“What about Henry? Do we say anything to him? He is a smart kid.”

“I don’t feel that we should mention anything to anyone for the time being, but your right, Henry is a very smart boy and I’m sure he will realise that something has changed between us. We can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Suddenly Emma let out a loud chuckle which made Regina look at the woman in front of her with both amusement and concern.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just had a vision of telling all of this to my parents.”

“Believe me, I have had the very same vision.”

Both women laughed together freely like they didn’t have a care in the world for that small moment.

“So, what do we do now?”

“We just do what we normally would. We will go to work, look after our son and whatever else it is that you get up to in your spare time.”

“I’m pretty sure my spare time will be mostly taken up with thinking about you and what happened here today.”

Regina smiled sweetly at Emma who was now blushing.

“Regina, I wanted to tell you something. About what happened yesterday morning. I’m sorry for how I behaved, I had no right to react like that. I felt terrible.”

Regina looked sorrowful before responding.

“It’s ok, Emma, I know that you’re sorry, but I reacted the way I did due to my own issues that you weren’t aware of. However I now owe you a huge apology. Using my magic against you was disgraceful Emma and I won’t ever forgive myself for doing so.”

She was lightly rubbing her thumb over the bruising on Emma’s wrist as she spoke.

“I can promise you that I will never hurt you like that again, not with magic or otherwise.”

Regina’s eyes had become wet and shiny with tears and Emma pulled her in close, wrapping her arms around Regina’s body.      Emma spoke as she rested her head against the other woman’s.

“We need to put that behind us now. We can start afresh without feeling anymore guilt. We can’t change what we did, so let’s just move on from it.”

Emma felt Regina nodding her head against her cheek in agreement.

“Argh, this sucks and as much as I don’t want to leave, my shift starts soon.”

Regina wiped at her eyes and pulled back, composing herself once more.

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to keep the sheriff from doing her job now, would I?”

Regina gave Emma a mischievous little wink which made her want to phone in sick at the station and stay with the incredible woman who stood before her. She decided to get going before she actually followed through with it.

They were stood in the foyer together, clearly both waiting for the other to say goodbye first. Emma took the plunge, taking a step forward and planting a soft, chaste kiss on Regina’s lips.

“Thanks, for everything, Regina. Can I call or message you later?”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”

Emma opened the front door and took a few steps outside before turning around.

“Bye, Regina.”

“Goodbye, Emma.”

And with that Emma continued down the path, turned the corner and was out of sight. Regina let out a contented sigh before re-entering the mansion.

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

Emma had to pick up her car from where she had left it near the rabbit hole before going to the station. A tiny smile played on her lips all the way there as she thought about everything that had happened over the past twelve hours. Sharing a bed with Regina, confessions of each other’s feelings and their first kiss. A kiss which had resulted in magic being made.

Emma finally got to her car and proceeded to drive the small distance to the sheriff’s station. She parked her bug next to her father’s pickup truck and walked into the building.

David was filing away some paperwork when he noticed his daughter enter the office.

“Hey Emma, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Your mother told me that you didn’t go home last night. And that you weren’t there this morning before she left for work either. You know how she is Em, she worries.”

“Yeah I know she does. But I was just with a friend and it got too late to go home so I just slept over.”

“Ok, well send her a message or something just to let her know you’re alive please.”

They both chuckled as David gathered up his things ready to leave. He told Emma that there was nothing to hand over as absolutely nothing had happened whilst he was on shift. They said their goodbyes and then Emma was alone in her office. Just as she sat down at her desk she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and beamed at the sender’s name.

**Regina: Have a good day at work sheriff x**

All Emma could look at was the little ‘x’ at the end of the message. She had never received a virtual kiss from Regina in her texts before and the sight of it made Emma giddy.

**Emma: And you madam mayor x**

Emma pressed the send button and immediately after sent another message.

**Emma: I miss you x**

She felt a little bit silly for sending it and then started to worry about Regina’s response, but she needn’t have.

**Regina: I miss you too dear. Now get to work x**

Emma stared at the message for a few moments. Regina missed her too. She knew that she wouldn’t be getting much work done today.

 

Regina placed her phone down on the desk and made an attempt at getting on with some work, but it was no use. She was making mistakes left, right and centre. There was only one thing on her mind and apparently it wasn’t work. Even though she had only been there for less than an hour, she decided that she would leave to get some lunch from granny’s.

She didn’t even notice the few people who had smiled at her on the way to the diner. She was in a world of her own. Regina climbed the small steps that lead her into granny’s. She approached the counter and took a seat on one of the vacant stools.

“Hey madam mayor. What can I get you?”

“Can I have a chicken Caesar salad, a grilled cheese sandwich, one of those funny looking donuts and two cups of coffee to go please, Miss Lucas.”

Regina hadn’t even realised what she had done until Ruby raised an eyebrow at her order. She supposed that she had subconsciously wanted an excuse to visit Emma. When Ruby returned she handed over Regina’s order with a smirk on her face.

“Enjoy your lunch, madam mayor.”

Regina looked down her nose at the waitress, picked up her bag of food and left the diner.

When she walked into the sheriff’s station she found Emma with her feet up on her desk and gazing at her phone in her hand. When she spotted Regina a huge smile overtook her face. She stood quickly and shortened the gap between them.

“Regina, what are you doing here?”

“Well I decided to take a lunch break.”

Emma folded her arms across her chest and leant against the wall.

“You couldn’t concentrate either huh?”

Regina was about to deny the blonde’s statement but what was the point? It was true.

“No, I couldn’t concentrate. Anyway I bought you something to eat.”

Emma’s eyes grew wide with a mixture of gratitude and hunger.

“You didn’t have to do that, but I’m not complaining. I’m starving!”

Regina rolled her eyes light heartedly.

“I swear food is always the only thing on your mind.”

Emma took on a more serious expression before answering.

“Trust me, there has only been one thing on my mind today and it wasn’t food.”

Regina’s cheeks turned a pale shade of pink and she walked over to the desk in Emma’s office, placing down the bag that contained their lunch. The blonde sat herself down watching Regina as she pulled out the contents of the bag. She was guessing that Regina would have bought her something healthy to eat as she was always giving her little digs about her poor diet. But when a grilled cheese sandwich and a bear claw were pushed over to her she was shocked. Regina actually knew what her favourite lunch was, or maybe it was a lucky guess but Emma didn’t think so. She didn’t waste any time in taking a bite from her sandwich.

“Mmm, Regina this is so good, I could kiss you.”

Emma had meant it as an offhanded comment but Regina took advantage of her words.

“Be my guest.”

That was all the prompting Emma needed. She was up and out of her chair lightning fast, making Regina giggle. She quickly swallowed her mouthful of food and bent her head down to place a gentle kiss on the corner of Regina’s mouth. As she did so Regina turned her head slightly so that their lips met full on. The dark haired woman pulled back first.

“Don’t let your sandwich get cold, dear.”

Emma smiled and sat herself back down in her chair, returning to her meal. Regina was now eating her salad, taking dainty bites. They ate the remainder of their lunch together, Emma being surprised when Regina didn’t argue when she offered her some of her bear claw.

Regina wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin and Emma mirrored the action on her own mouth, but Regina noticed that she had missed a tiny speck of food which was on her chin. She stepped around the desk, took the napkin from Emma’s hands and sat herself down lightly on the shocked sheriff’s lap. Regina gently wiped the crumb from Emma’s chin using the napkin which she then dropped onto the desk.

“You missed a spot.”

Regina then took Emma’s face in her hands and placed the softest of kisses on her waiting lips. She pulled away, rubbing Emma’s cheek with her thumb.

“Regina?”

“Yes, Emma?”

“Do you feel that things are progressing quickly between us? I mean I don’t want to jeopardise anything between us.”

“Tell me Emma, does any of this feel wrong to you?”

Emma answered honestly.

“No, not at all.”

“Exactly. We are just doing what feels right. No pressures, just doing what comes naturally to us. But if you wish to slow things down…”

Regina began to raise herself up from Emma’s lap but was pulled back down by a pair of strong arms.

“I just want you, Regina. I think since coming to Storybrooke, that’s all I have ever wanted.”

Regina smiled sweetly, kissed Emma on the cheek and stood.

“I think it’s time I let you get back to work, sheriff. I will speak to you later.”

Regina was almost out of sight as Emma called out to her.

“Thanks for lunch.”

She could just about hear Regina’s reply.

“You’re welcome, Emma.”

Emma was once again alone in the station. She went about gathering up the rubbish from their lunch and threw it in the bin next to her desk. She could still smell Regina’s musky perfume in the air. It made her miss the other woman terribly.

“Get a grip on yourself Swan. You’re not a frigging teenager.”

She reached for her phone and composed a text.

**Emma: Could this “closeness” be more heightened by the magic that’s between us?**

She sat nibbling at her nails waiting for an answer.

**Regina: I’m not sure, why do you ask?**

**Emma: Because since this morning, every moment that I’m not with you, I can’t stop thinking about you. I feel like a hormonal teenage boy.**

**Regina: Well if it’s any consolation, I feel the same way. I don’t think there is much point in fighting it, as I imagine it would only make things worse.**

Their virtual conversation was interrupted by the office phone ringing. She answered whilst replying to Regina.

“Sheriff’s station.”

**Emma: Finally have some work to do, will txt later x**

The call had been from Archie, Pongo had gone missing, again. She told Archie she would pop by to help him look around where he had lost him near the edge of the forest. She took a quick gulp of her luke warm coffee then grabbed her jacket and keys before heading out.

On the drive over she passed the mayor’s office and looked longingly at Regina’s car parked outside. She quickly gave her cheeks a few light slaps and moaned at herself.

“Stop it woman!”

Emma didn’t see the huge delivery truck until it was too late. She heard a horn blow loud, and then nothing.

 

Regina had finally managed to complete some work. The thought of it building up and making her stay late was not appealing. She was interrupted by her phone vibrating on the desk. She was smiling before she picked it up, imagining it to be Emma. She didn’t even look at the caller’s ID.

“Emma, I have finally started to get on with some work, as you should be too.”

It wasn’t Emma. It was David, his voice raw and full of worry.

“Emma was in an accident Regina. She is at the hospital, I don’t know what condition she is in, but I’m on my way there now.”

Regina didn’t speak another word. She promptly dropped her phone, raised her hands up before her face and was gone from where she stood, leaving behind a haze of purple smoke.

She reappeared inside the main entrance of the hospital, grabbing a nearby nurse and demanding to know where Emma was. She was told that she couldn’t see her right now. This was the wrong thing to tell Regina who went all evil queen on the poor nurse, grabbing her by her tiny shoulders and getting in her face.

“If you value your life you will take me to her right now.”

The nurse who was close to tears now hurried away with Regina following behind. Just as they stopped in the corridor, a doctor rushed into the room that they were stood in front of, and as the door swung back and forth on its hinges, Regina caught a glimpse inside. The bed was surrounded with doctors and nurses all hurrying around. She then saw a nurse performing CPR on the poor person on the bed. It was only a second later that Regina saw the mass of blonde hair and realised that she was looking at Emma Swan.

“NO!”

Regina screamed and forced her way into the room. She was met with the sight of Emma, her clothes covered in blood and with a breathing tube down her throat. The nurse was still performing CPR.

“Get her the hell out of here.”

Then there were hands all over her, trying to remove her from the room. She resisted at first, but her legs had become weak and so was easily pulled from the room. Once back in the corridor Regina slammed her back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest. A nurse was waiting outside the door clearly ready to stop Regina if she attempted to re-enter the room. A minute or so later Regina heard fast and heavy footsteps approaching. When she looked up she saw David rushing to her side.

“Regina, where is she? Is she ok?”

Pure panic rolled off his tongue as he spoke.

“She is in there, but they haven’t told me anything. David, I…”

Regina didn’t have a chance to say anymore as Dr. Whale had come out of the room where Emma was being cared for. He had blood on his otherwise clean white coat, the sight of it making David gulp and Regina close her eyes.

“How is she doctor? What’s going on?”

“David, Emma has suffered a severe trauma. Her condition is still critical but currently stable. She has multiple injuries including broken ribs which then punctured one of her lungs. She has a pretty nasty head injury, but we will need to perform a CT to find out if there is any damage to her brain. I won’t lie to you, we nearly lost her David. She stopped breathing for almost five minutes, but we managed to get her back.”

Both David and Regina had tears streaming down their faces as they took in the upsetting information being told to them. Regina made an attempt to compose herself before speaking.

“When can we see her?”

“After she comes back from her scan you can see her for a few moments.”

Dr. Whale gave a sympathetic smile before walking away.

“What happened, David?”

He brushed the back of his hand against his eyes, wiping away any remaining tears.

“A delivery truck drove into the side of the cruiser, it flipped a few times then hit a tree. Emma had to be cut out of her vehicle. The delivery driver died at the scene. An eyewitness said that that truck was driving way to fast.”

Regina suddenly remembered that Henry would have finished school by now and may be on his way home.

“I need to see to Henry, explain to him what is happening.”

“Don’t worry, he is with Mary Margaret. He knows that there was an accident but no more than that. Would you like me to tell him what’s going on?”

“No, thank you, David. I will call him and explain everything.”

David nodded and then took out his phone, intending to call his wife with the latest news. Regina had left her phone in the office when she was told about Emma, so she had to conjure it up, which was no easy feat when your mind was all over the place. After a few failed attempts, it eventually appeared in her hand and she scrolled through her contacts until she reached Henry’s cell. She had agreed to buy him one just in-case of emergencies. He answered on the first ring.

“Mom? What’s happening? Where’s Emma? Is she okay?”

The barrage of questions were coming through thick and fast, his voice a little higher than usual.

“Henry, Emma is quite safe. I’m here at the hospital with her and your grandpa. She was involved in a car accident and has a few injuries, but she is being fixed up as we speak.”

“Will she be ok?”

“Of course she will, sweetheart.”

“You promise?”

She could hear the emotion in his voice and it tugged on her heartstrings. She wanted desperately to be there with him, to hold him close to her and comfort him.

“I promise, Henry. Besides, it would take more than this to stop the saviour, right?”

He sounded a little more appeased with this statement.

“Yeah, I guess so. Can I come and see her?”

“Soon, but she still needs a lot of care and rest. I promise you can see her soon, Henry.”

“Ok, can you tell her that I said hi?”

“Of course I will, sweetheart. I will see you later, oh and Henry, be good for your grandmother.”

“I will, mom.”

Henry had hung up, but Regina still had the phone to her ear when they wheeled Emma out of the room. As the bed passed by, Regina held out her hand and brushed her fingertips against Emma’s bloody arm. The bed didn’t stop and Regina watched on helplessly as she was taken away, out of sight. She looked at her fingers which had touched Emma seconds before and saw faint red stains. Without making any attempt to wipe the blood from her fingers, Regina walked into the relative’s room where she found David with his head bowed between his legs. He looked up when he heard Regina shut the door behind her.

“They have just taken her down for her scan. Is Mary Margaret okay?”

“As well as she can be. I’m going to go home soon and swap with her so she can be here. I’ll look after Henry, don’t worry.”

“I know you will, dear, thank you.”

Regina took a seat next to David and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

“She will be okay, David.”

“I hope you’re right, Regina.”

David patted the hand that was on his arm before standing.

“I will be back later, do you want me to bring you anything?”

“No, thank you. I will let you know if there is any news before Mary Margaret gets here.”

David managed a half smile before leaving.

At least thirty minutes had past when Mary Margaret came into the room. Regina noticed how tired and weary she looked.

“Have they told you anything?”

“No, she still hasn’t come back from her scan yet.”

The younger woman was just about to take a seat when the door opened revealing Dr. Whale.

“Emma is back now. The initial findings from her CT show no major damage. She is very lucky indeed. When she regains consciousness, she will feel the effects of a severe concussion, but nothing lasting. You can come and see her for a few moments.”

Mary Margaret took the few steps to exit the room, but turned around and questioned Regina who hadn’t moved.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“You go ahead. Spend some time with your daughter. I will be along in a few minutes.”

Looking slightly confused at Regina’s kind manner, Mary Margaret left without another word.

Regina waited for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only a matter of minutes before visiting Emma. As she entered her room, she could see her mother holding onto one of her hands. Regina stood back, allowing Mary Margaret to spend more time with Emma. Although a moment later she kissed the hand that she was holding and whispered something that Regina couldn’t quite catch into the blonde’s ear. Mary Margaret stepped away from Emma’s bed and faced Regina.

“I’m going to let David come and see her quickly.”

“Oh, you don’t have to leave, I can take over from David.”

Mary Margaret put her hand on Regina’s shoulder.

“No, stay here and spend some time with Emma. Watch over her whilst I’m gone.”

Regina couldn’t even manage to get any words out, so she just nodded in acknowledgment of Mary Margaret’s request.

“Thank you.”

Mary Margaret then left Regina alone with Emma.

As she approached Emma’s bedside she noticed that there was still a breathing tube in Emma’s mouth which was attached to a machine behind the bed which was clearly breathing for her. She could see a large gash on her neck and lots of small cuts on her face, which were probably caused by broken glass. She sat on the seat next to the bed and took Emma’s hand gently in her own. Ever so slowly she brought Emma’s limp hand up to her own face, cupping it against her cheek, needing to feel Emma hold her somehow. Emma’s hand became wet as fresh tears came from Regina’s eyes.

“Emma, please. Please be okay. Henry needs you. I need you Emma.”

She carefully laid Emma’s hand down on the bed and stood up. She leant over and placed the softest of kisses on Emma’s forehead. She sat herself back down again and rested her head next to Emma’s arm on the bed, then promptly fell asleep.

 

It was two days later before Emma was able to breath on her own and regain consciousness. Two days of waiting, worrying, one sided conversations and tears. Regina had intended to leave and get Henry to take him home on the first night of being in the hospital, but she found that she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave Emma in the hospital. Neither David or Mary Margaret questioned the reason why she didn’t leave. They could see the look of pure horror on her face when she had first attempted to leave. She had started to walk to the hospital exit then stopped dead on the spot. She wouldn’t move an inch closer to the exit, so she returned back to Emma’s side. Henry’s care was being shared between his grandparents and Ruby.

The first word that Emma spoke when she finally woke was Regina’s name. She had her eyes closed still and her voice was quiet and gravely due to the breathing tube which had irritated her throat. Regina was by her side in a matter of seconds, kissing Emma as softly as she could.

“Welcome back, Miss Swan.”

“Say my name.”

Regina thought maybe Emma was dreaming.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Say my name, Regina. I want to hear you say it.”

“Emma.”

The blonde gave a tired half smile.

“How much do you remember, Emma?”

“I remember driving to meet Archie, and then I heard a horn. Then I was here. Regina, I could hear everything that was being said to me. I could hear you all, but I couldn’t answer.”

“Well I’m glad that my ramblings weren’t in vain.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not leaving me. For opening up to me.”

Regina had told Emma all sorts of stories from her past whilst she had been unconscious. Including the ones about her late husband.

“Well if I’m honest I never thought that you could hear me.”

“Thank you anyway.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

It was another two weeks before Emma was well enough to be discharged. Mary Margaret had wanted Emma to return home to the apartment so she could look after her, but after some heated discussions it was decided that Emma would return home with Regina. She would be able to work from home and so would be around all day if Emma needed her. They also agreed that Henry should stay with his grandparents for a week or so to allow Emma time to settle in and relax.

 

Regina rolled the car to a stop outside the mansion. She opened the passenger door and took Emma’s hand, helping her into the house.

“Do you think you can manage to go upstairs to your room?”

Her room. Emma tried to not let the disappointment show on her face. Regina had given her the guest bedroom she thought.

“Yeah, sure.”

They climbed the stairs together with Regina’s hand sat on the small of Emma’s back. They reached the top and to Emma’s surprise Regina guided her into her own bedroom.

“Oh, I thought I would be in the guestroom.”

“You can stay in there if you wish…”

“No! No, no. I am more than happy to stay in here, with you?”

“Of course, this way I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t get up to any trouble.”

“I don’t know what your implying, madam mayor.”

Emma winked at Regina and was answered with an eye roll.

Emma slept like a baby on that first night, unlike Regina who barely got to see the inside of her eyelids. She had found herself checking Emma’s breathing every ten minutes or so. She knew that she was being overly concerned, but she couldn’t help herself.

The second night had been better. Emma had taken Regina in her arms, allowing her to use her crook of her arm as a pillow. They had lain together with Emma pressing kisses on Regina’s head and with Regina rubbing circles on Emma’s warm stomach. For the first time in weeks Regina felt happy. She could finally relax, feeling safe and content in Emma’s arms. They had both noticed the almost invisible white glow that had reappeared around their hands, but neither women felt the need to discuss it.

Just like the past two mornings, Emma woke to a glorious smell coming from downstairs. She wasted no time in going to see what was on the menu today.

“Mmm, I could get used to this.”

Emma was sniffing the air like a dog searching for his bone. Regina turned and gave her an unimpressed look.

“You should have waited for me to help you down the stairs!”

Emma waved her hand in-front of her, dismissing Regina’s words.

“Nah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Regina raised an unamused eyebrow.

“That’s the trouble, I do worry about it. You, I worry about you.”

“Well feel free to worry about my empty stomach, because it’s in need of some tlc.”

Regina turned away from Emma and continued cooking.

“Do you have to make light out of everything?”

Emma heard the sharpness of Regina’s tone and realised that she had genuinely annoyed her. She walked up behind the other woman and placed a hand on her shoulder, which was shrugged off the second it made contact.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make light of it, Regina. I know you worry about me.”

“Do you? Because I don’t think you have any idea.”

Regina began to rant, leaving Emma speechless. She finally turned to face the blonde.

“Do you know how it felt to see you in that hospital bed, covered in blood whilst someone was resuscitating you?! How it felt to watch them remove your breathing tubes and not knowing if you would be able to breath for yourself or not?! Sitting beside your bed waiting for you to wake up?!”

This was clearly something Regina had to get off her chest. She had been putting on a brave face in-front of Emma and so she had no idea how much all of this had affected her.

“Regina, I am so sorry. I never wanted to put you through any of that. Come here.”

Regina made no attempt to move so Emma took the few steps forward and pulled her into her arms. The moment that Regina’s chin rested on Emma’s shoulder was the same moment when the tears began to fall. Regina held on to the back of Emma’s tank top with scrunched up fists and sobbed.

“It’s ok, Regina, I’m here.”

She heard a small muffled voice speak near her ear.

“Don’t you leave me, Emma. I need you.”

Any doubts about the status of their relationship were now gone. There was no turning back for either of them.

“I will never leave you, Regina, I promise.”

Emma stepped out of the hug, and with one hand still holding tight to Regina’s she turned the stove off and guided her out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. Regina didn’t even question what was going on, she was happy to be lead to wherever Emma was.

They entered the bedroom and didn’t stop until they were stood next to the bed. Emma sat herself down on the edge and pulled Regina down to sit beside her. Her tears had stopped flowing now, but her cheeks were still wet from where they had been previously. Emma wiped the wetness away using the back of her fingers before kissing her cheek. She kissed the other cheek and then finally she found Regina’s soft lips. The kiss was slow and soft and full of emotion. One of Regina’s hands was buried in blonde locks of hair whilst the other had found it’s way under Emma’s top and was scratching lightly down her back.

Emma pulled herself back from Regina and shuffled more onto the bed and laid herself down. She held her hand out as an invitation to Regina who was still sat on the edge of the bed.

“Come and lay with me.”

Regina took the outstretched hand and positioned herself next to Emma. They both turned so that they were lying on their sides facing each other. Emma tilted Regina’s chin up with her thumb and began to place gentle kisses to her exposed neck resulting in a sigh of pleasure from the mayor. Emma’s tongue traced a line from her collar bone to behind her ear where she then proceeded to bite gently. Emma’s hands had begun to explore under Regina’s blouse and had quickly found their way into her bra where she was now rolling a hard nipple between a finger and thumb.

Things were heating up pretty quickly between them and it was only when Regina had pressed her palm against Emma’s sex that the blonde withdrew herself from Regina’s touch.

“Whoa, stop.”

The look of rejection on Regina’s face made Emma realise that she needed to explain herself, and fast. But Regina was already off the bed and straightening out her rumpled clothes.

“Regina wait…Stop!”

“Stop? I thought I already did that.”

Emma reached out and grabbed Regina’s arm and despite her best effort to shake her off, Emma maintained her hold.

“Regina listen to me, let me explain!”

“Emma Swan you will let go of me this instant!”

“No, I won’t. Not until I explain. Stop being so stubborn for once in your life and listen to me damn it!”

Regina was clearly taken aback by Emma’s outburst because she actually stopped and looked at her.

“I didn’t stop you because I didn’t want it. I want it more than anything, Regina. Just not yet.”

“You are doing a very good job of contradicting yourself, dear.”

“Look I just wanted our first time to be perfect. If I’m honest I’m still feeling pretty weak after the accident and I want to give you my everything, not some half assed attempt. If I hadn’t have stopped you when I did, I don’t think I would have stopped at all.”

“You better be telling me the truth, Emma. I want you to be honest, don’t try and spare my feelings.”

Emma reached down, took Regina’s hand and held it over her heart.

“I promise you, Regina Mills that I am being one hundred percent honest with you. I can’t wait to take that next step with you, and believe me when I say, I used up my whole life’s supply of will power today.”

“I should have known that chivalry would run in your family.”

“That’s me, charming by name, kind of, and charming by nature.”

“Emma?.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

And she did, long and hard. After they broke away Regina headed back downstairs, leaving Emma stood in the bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

Regina called over her shoulder whilst descending the stairs.

“To finish cooking your breakfast. We need to build your strength up now, don’t we, dear?”

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

They had gotten into a routine during that first week alone together. Regina would make a huge breakfast for Emma before retreating into her study to fulfil her mayoral duties. Emma would sit with her in the study, playing games on her phone and eventually pestering Regina with random thoughts and questions as she became bored. “What’s this form for? Can’t you just pretend you did them? I’m bored. What’s your favourite cheese? Why do you think yawning is contagious?” Regina would always lose her patience eventually and either tell her to shut up or send her out of her study completely.

After lunch they would go for an afternoon walk down to the docks, linking arms. Nobody stopped to talk to them, but some of the town’s people would send a nod or smile in their direction.

Emma would sit out in the garden whilst Regina watched her from the kitchen window as she made dinner for them both. After dinner, if the weather was nice they would sit in the garden together and watch the sunset. Otherwise they would either listen to music in the study or watch TV in the lounge. Every night before bed they would take a shower together and then fall asleep in each other’s arms.

 

The two weeks of rehabilitation were almost up and Henry would be returning home in less than two days.

Regina was sat up in the huge bed with Emma draped unceremoniously over her legs, still asleep. She didn’t want to waste anymore time of their last couple of days together alone, so she started running her fingers along the length of Emma’s toned arms in the hope of rousing her sleeping partner. It seemed to do the trick as a moment later she was greeted with a dopey grin.

“Good morning, darling.”

Regina bent her head down and kissed the top of Emma’s head, all the while still stroking her arm.

“I could get used to waking up like this.”

“Well make the most of it as I’m sure your mother will be dragging you back home by Monday. I’m surprised she lasted this long without interfering.”

“Well she did send me a text the other day asking if she wanted me to have her pick me up.”

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I rest my case. Anyway, what would you like to do with your last days here?”

Emma was drawing small circles with her fingers across Regina’s taut stomach.

“I just want to spend it with you. It doesn’t matter what we do.”

“Ok, well let’s not waste anymore of the day. Why don’t you take a long shower and I’ll go and make us some breakfast?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Emma sat herself up so that she could steal a satisfying kiss from Regina before going to take her shower.

Feeling refreshed and ready for the day, Emma rushed down the stairs taking two at a time. She could hear noises coming from the dining room so headed in.

“Whoa, are you expecting company?”

The table was covered in a huge assortment of breakfast items. Eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, cereals, muffins, pancakes, donuts, yogurt, coffee and juice. There was easily enough to feed a family of four.

“Only you, dear.”

Emma sat down and eyed the feast before her greedily.

“I don’t even know where to start!”

“I may have gotten a bit carried away, but I thought you could just have whatever you wanted.”

Emma started to tuck into her breakfast of champions, determined to have a little of everything on offer, only stopping when she was close to bursting.

Regina started to clear away what remained of the morning meal.

“I would help, Regina, but I’m pretty sure that I can’t move right now.”

Regina chuckled and gave Emma’s shoulder a light squeeze as she passed on her way to the kitchen.

“You just stay where you are. I wouldn’t want you hurting yourself.”

Emma eventually managed to drag herself into the study and waited for Regina.

“What are you doing in here?”

Emma turned around with a start, looking at Regina who was stood in the doorway.

“Um, aren’t you going to do some work?”

“It’s Saturday, Emma. I don’t tend to work on the weekends.”

“Saturday? Oh right, okay. I totally lost track of what day of the week it is.”

“Of course. Well, do you want to go out anywhere?”

Emma was now stood directly in-front of Regina and she reached out to take her hands in her own.

“Would you mind if we stayed in for now?”

Regina took a step forward, allowing their bodies to press together.

“Not at all, whatever you want is fine with me.”

The pair shared a chaste kiss before embracing each other tightly.

“Do you wanna watch a movie with me or something? Close all the curtains and make it dark and cosy?”

“That sounds nice.”

Emma grinned and led Regina into the lounge.

“Ok, you can get the room ready and I will pick the movie.”

Emma opened the small cabinet which housed all of twelve DVD’s. “We really need to add to this collection”, Emma thought. She came across one particular film which surprised her.

“Hey, did you know you had this movie?”

Emma was holding up a copy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which was still in its cellophane wrapper.

“I have no idea what that is.”

“Good, we’re watching it.”

Emma set up the DVD player whilst Regina finished preparing the room. Apart from the light from the TV, the room was pitch black.

“Hey, those are some pretty impressive curtains.”

“They had a little help with some magic.”

“Nicely done. Now get your cute little butt over here.”

Emma was patting the seat next to her on the couch. Regina sat down and found herself being pulled into Emma’s open arms.

They were almost halfway through the movie and Emma couldn’t quite believe how squeamish Regina was. She would bury her head into Emma’s shoulder when something particularly gruesome happened and she was jumping all over the place, gripping Emma’s arm tightly in anticipation of what would happen next.

“Regina, you were the evil queen for christ’s sake! You ripped people’s hearts out. How is this making you feel sick?”

“It’s totally different. For one thing, there is no blood involved in taking someone’s heart. And I did the things I did for a reason, mostly, but this is the act of a psychopath!”

“I’m not sure that’s much of a comparison there, Regina.”

Regina playfully slapped Emma on the arm to which the blonde responded with a poke of her finger in Regina’s side. The dark haired woman flinched and swatted Emma’s hand away quickly. The saviour’s eyes widened with glee.

“You wouldn’t happen to be ticklish, would you, your majesty?”

“Don’t be absurd. Of course not.”

“Liar.”

There was another jab in Regina’s side followed by a squeeze of the flesh there. Regina responded with a yelp and jerked her body away from the touch.

“Emma, stop it.”

Her words were futile as Emma had a playful gleam in her eye.

“Stop what?”

Emma used both hands this time and tickled and squeezed on either side of Regina’s slim waist. A small scream escaped from Regina’s mouth which made Emma laugh and carry on her attack. They were wrestling on the couch, Emma now laying on her back with the struggling Regina pressing down on top of her.

“Emma Swan, I’m warning you..”

Regina was barely able to get the words out in-between her giggles and shrieks. Emma finally decided to stop her attack on the former queen and revelled in the sight of the woman atop her. Their eyes locked together and Emma tucked strands of dark hair behind Regina’s ear, her fingers not losing contact as she moved her hand to sit on the nape of Regina’s neck. She then pulled the other woman down to her, their lips almost touching. Emma’s stomach flipped with pleasure at the feel of Regina’s hot breath against her face. Regina pulled her lips up in a half smile and that was all it took for Emma to close the small gap between them and smash their mouths together resulting in a hot, wet kiss. Regina moaned into the kiss when Emma pushed her tongue deep into the mayor’s mouth. Emma felt twinges down below and realised that she could probably orgasm from hearing the noises coming from Regina alone.

Before things could progress further, they were interrupted by a loud scream coming from the TV which made them both jump. They laughed at each other’s reactions and settled together again to watch the rest of the movie.

Later that afternoon, Regina said that she had to go to the store to buy some things for dinner. Emma, who usually hated shopping of any description, seemed more than happy to accompany Regina.

The store was pretty empty which meant that they could shop at their leisure with less chance of any disruptions. Regina set about finding the ingredients she needed for their meal. She was inspecting a sweet potato when she spoke up.

“Don’t think that I can’t see what you’re doing.”

Emma froze with her hand in the shopping cart. She was clutching a box of donut holes.

“How did you know? You had your back to me!”

“Oh, I just know you. Now put them back.”

“Can’t I have them for desert?”

“I had something else in mind for desert, Emma.”

The sultry tone that Regina used was not lost on Emma who swiftly put the donut holes back on the shelf.

Regina continued to search for the things that she needed with Emma trailing behind, clearly becoming bored. She saw the sheriff put a bar of chocolate into a random person’s basket when they weren’t looking.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Have you never played this game? No, of course you haven’t. Well you have to add things to people’s baskets or carts without them noticing.”

Regina stopped dead in the aisle and raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Emma.

“Why would you do that?”

“It’s fun, you should have a go. Here, put this in that guy’s basket.”

Emma handed over a small box.

“A pregnancy test? Really? I honestly can’t see the appeal of doing something so stupid.”

“Come on, Regina, just do it.”

Regina sighed in defeat and headed towards the currently unattended basket on the floor. The very moment she dropped the box in the basket, a hand gripped hold of it’s handles. She had been caught.

“Madam Mayor? Why did you put this in here?”

A middle aged gentleman who Regina didn’t recognise, was holding up the pregnancy test. She briefly glanced at Emma who was visibly shaking with stifled laughter. Without losing her composure further, Regina snatched the box from the man’s hand.

“I clearly thought it was my basket. I apologise.”

The man looked at her cart and was clearly going to mention that she never had a basket, but he obviously thought better of it, nodding and walking away. Once he was out of sight, Emma was able to let out her suppressed laughter.

“I think you need to work on your technique.”

Despite herself, Regina couldn’t help but smirk at the woman in-front of her who was laughing whole heartedly. She slapped Emma’s arm with the back of her hand.

“You’re lucky you look cute when you laugh. Come on sheriff, I’m about done, let’s go before you talk me into doing something else stupid.”

Once back at the mansion, Emma got herself a beer out of the fridge and poured out a glass of wine for Regina who had started on the prep work for their dinner. Emma then took her beer out into the garden and sat down on a newly acquired swing bench. She began to think about the past two weeks and how happy she had been with Regina. She had felt safe and wanted, things that she had rarely felt in the past, if at all. She knew that she loved Regina, but she was scared of admitting as such to her in fear of her reaction. Emma wouldn’t be able to cope with a rejection from her. She would keep her confession of love to herself until she was sure it was returned in equal measure, which she prayed to god that it was.

She thought about Monday and the prospect of having to return home, to Mary Margaret and David. The problem was, she already felt like she was at home here. She was pulled from her thoughts when two hands pressed down on both of her shoulders and the softest of kisses was placed against her neck.

“Come inside, Emma, dinner is just about ready.”

Emma took hold of Regina’s hands and pulled her around to the front of the swing bench. She then pulled her down onto her lap and pushed with her feet making them swing together. Regina had let out a small squeal of excitement and was now laughing into Emma’s chest. It was the most beautiful sound that Emma had ever heard and it filled her heart up to the brim with joy.

“Regina,”

“Yes, Emma?”

She almost said the words that she so desperately felt, but she stopped herself at the last minute.

“Nothing. Come on, let’s go and eat. I’m starving.”

“As always, dear.”

They re-entered the house hand in hand and went into the dining room. Emma slowed her steps as she entered noticing the effort Regina had made for their meal. The table had a scattering of small candles along it’s length and in the centre was a vase full of different coloured roses, similar to the ones Emma had once bought for Regina as a thank you. There was music playing softly in the background but Emma was unable to make out what it was yet.

“Sit down, I will be right back.”

Regina returned a moment later with a full glass of wine and another beer for Emma. She placed it down in front of her, needing to lean her body over her shoulder to do so. Before she stood herself up again, she reached for Emma’s cheek with one hand, turning her head so she was facing her. Whilst caressing her cheek with her warm fingers, she gave the blonde an open mouthed kiss which seemed to go on forever.

“If you carry on like that I’m not going to want any dinner!”

“Now that would be a first.”

Regina left once more and finally returned with two plates. Emma wasted no time tucking into her meal of roasted vegetables with a stuffed pork loin. They ate mostly in silence, both seemingly happy to absorb the atmosphere and just enjoy each other’s company. Every so often Emma would look up and catch Regina staring at her and it would make her stomach ache with desire.

Once they had finished their meal, Regina had gathered her plate and was just about to take Emma’s when the blonde held on to her wrist to stop her. Regina dropped her plate onto the table and looked down at the still seated Emma who had now wrapped her arms around her waist and was pulling her in closer.

“Kiss me.”

“Don’t you want your desert first?”

“No. I just want you, Regina. Kiss me.”

Regina heard the seriousness and need in Emma’s voice and complied happily bending down once again to meet the waiting lips with her own. Emma pulled her chair back from the table and pulled Regina down to her allowing her to straddle her lap. Emma’s hands began to wander under Regina’s top and she spread her hands across the smooth skin of her back. She pulled away from the kiss and Regina pulled her close to her, cradling her head against her middle whilst she ran her fingers through her long blonde hair.

Emma then repeatedly placed small kisses to Regina’s stomach through her top. She slowly began to undo the buttons on the blouse and eventually she pulled it away from Regina’s body. The older woman was now in just her trousers and black bra. Emma trailed her tongue from the top of Regina’s trousers and didn’t stop until she reached her bra. Regina took hold of Emma’s face in her hands and looked deep into her eyes.

“Not here. Let’s go upstairs, darling.”

Emma couldn’t help but release the moan which had built up within her after hearing Regina use the term of endearment on her.

“Jesus, Regina.”

Emma was led by the hand out of the dining room, Regina looking over her shoulder at her every now and then with a sexy grin on her face. Emma couldn’t even smile back. It was taking all of her concentration to even put one foot in front of the other and walk right now. They had reached the foot of the stairs and Regina had taken a step up, leaving Emma still grounded and in a perfect position to take hold of the perfectly rounded ass that was presented in front of her. As she did, she also leaned forward and rested her forehead against Regina’s bare back. Her hands began to wonder and they eventually met with another pair where they entwined together against Regina’s pelvic area. Emma used the connection to turn the other woman around to face her and in one fluid movement raised one of Regina’s thighs and encouraged it to sit around her waist. A second later Regina lifted herself up and done the same with her other leg and was now firmly attached to Emma, being held up by the tension in her thighs and by the saviour’s strong, safe arms.

“Regina, I..”

Regina silenced Emma with a tender kiss before whispering into her ear.

“Take me to bed, Miss Swan.”

Emma wasted no time in doing as she was told and made the rest of the journey up to the bedroom with Regina still wrapped tightly around her body. Once in the bedroom, Emma closed the door behind them using her boot before turning and pushing Regina’s frame up against the white wood. A small moan was pushed out of the mayor as her back hit against the hard surface. Emma was pressing her body hard into Regina’s own, causing friction between the other woman’s legs.

“Emma I need you to touch me. Please, touch me.”

Even with her arm and leg muscles burning, she kept hold of Regina and walked over to the bed before slowly lowering her down. It only took a moment for Emma to unzip Regina’s trousers and remove them completely, leaving the older woman in her expensive matching black underwear. She looked down upon Regina and drank in the sight before her. She had always had a thing about women in just their underwear whilst wearing heels, not that she had ever experienced it before in person. Not until now anyway. Emma was unable to move, all she could do was stare open mouthed at the exquisite sight laying before her. Regina waited for another moment before pulling Emma down beside her on the bed, breaking her trance like state. The blonde began to attentively pepper Regina’s skin with soft loving kisses, her cheeks, chin, neck, and shoulders all receiving attention.

Emma then found her hand tracing over the outside of Regina’s panties, becoming more and more desperate to feel what was underneath, but also not wanting any of what was currently happening to end. Regina curled her fingers into a mass of blonde hair and gripped tightly as she began to use her tongue to prise Emma’s lips apart. She bit down on the saviour’s bottom lip, making Emma hiss with pain and pleasure.

Emma could wait no longer. Her hand found its way underneath the restricting underwear and she was greeted with a small patch of wet curls. She needed to feel more, so she gently pushed aside Regina’s folds and dragged a finger up from her opening to her sensitive clitoris. Regina was breathing heavy into Emma’s neck, her lips barely brushing against her ear as she spoke.

“Can you feel how ready I am for you? You did this to me, Emma.”

The blonde murmured some uncomprehensive words in response as she continued to explore the warm, wet depths of Regina. Before she could do anything else, Regina quickly lifted her hips off the bed to remove her soaked panties. A second later she had removed her bra, leaving her completely naked. Emma smiled at the bare flesh before she slowly eased one finger inside, and then Regina took her wrist and pulled it back out again. She held up the hand between them and stared at the glistening moisture that had settled on her index finger. Emma then raised her eyebrows in surprise as Regina brought the finger to her mouth and proceeded to suck her own juices from it.

“Holy shit…”

 

Emma realised that she had never been so close to climaxing without anyone actually touching her. And to heighten Emma’s intoxicating state, Regina kissed her allowing them both to taste her arousal. Regina spoke against Emma’s open mouth.

“I need you in me now, Miss Swan.”

“It would be my pleasure, Mayor Mills!”

Regina couldn’t help but chuckle at Emma’s retort, but she soon became serious again when she felt two slender fingers slowly enter her. She moaned in appreciation as the invading fingers delved deeper and deeper inside.

“Yes Emma, yes..”

“You are so wet, Regina, who is it for?”

Emma was licking and sucking the expanse of skin between Regina’s ear lobe and her collar bone, which was clearly going to leave a lasting mark.

“You, Emma. I will only ever be wet for you.”

The blonde’s hand movements began to get faster, matching the rhythm of Regina’s hips as she thrusted against the saviour. Her fingers curled upwards when they reached their deepest point and her thumb was circling her engorged clit.

The built up tension meant that Regina wouldn’t last long.

“I’m close, don’t stop, Emma, please… I…”

Regina’s pleas were haltered briefly as Emma latched on to one of her nipples, sucking hard and nibbling softly.

“Emma, I… I…”

Emma lifted her head so that she could look directly into a pair of almost black, hungry eyes.

“Say it, Regina, please. I need to hear you say it.”

Regina claimed a quick kiss before breathlessly giving Emma what she wanted.

“I love you, Emma Swan, you’re mine.”

The declaration made Emma pump even faster, giving it everything she had left in her. She whispered into Regina’s ear then.

“I love you too, so fucking much. Come for me, Regina.”

Just as Regina was reaching her climax, she grabbed at Emma’s face and kissed her with so much passion that it made the blonde dizzy.

The release that Regina felt was overwhelming. Her insides tightened against Emma’s fingers and the continuing spasms from her clit made her dig her nails into Emma’s shoulders, leaving behind crescent moons. Her muscles slowly began to relax and Emma gently pulled her dripping fingers out and looked at them hungrily. She desperately wanted to suck the liquid from them, but she suddenly became a little self-conscious and thought better of it. But it was as though Regina could read her mind as just before Emma could wipe her fingers against her thigh, Regina took hold of her hand and guided it to the blonde’s mouth. Emma accepted the invitation and sucked at her fingers, moaning as she tasted everything Regina.

The older woman rolled over so that she was sat upright on Emma’s hips and she held her hands out in an invitation for the blonde laying underneath her to take them. Emma entwined their fingers together and pulled herself up, Regina now sat on her lap with her legs wrapped around her back. They hugged tightly, both women content in each other’s arms. Emma was the first to break the silence.

“Did you mean what you said, Regina? You weren’t just caught up in the moment or something?”

“What do you think? Do you think I meant it?”

Emma released a long sigh.

“I want to believe that you meant it,”

“But…”

“But I have faced rejection all my life, so I find it easier to accept that than to believe that someone actually wants me.”

Regina felt the back of her eyes sting as tears threatened to make an appearance. She cupped the side of Emma’s face.

“Sweetheart, one thing you should know about me by now is that I always mean what I say.”

“I know you do, but there is just a part of me that can’t accept that it’s true. I’m sorry.”

Regina rubbed supportive circles on Emma’s back.

“Don’t be sorry, I understand Emma. I can’t imagine anyone loving me either, not after all I have done in my life.”

Emma let a shy smile creep across her face.

“I guess we will just have to trust each other and take the other’s word for it huh?”

“Indeed, for now anyway, dear.”

Regina looked down at Emma with a frown on her face and she grabbed hold of a piece of her tank top.

“Why on earth are you still wearing clothes, Miss Swan?”

“That is a very good question, madam mayor. Maybe you could look into it?”

In one swift movement, Regina had removed the opposing top revealing more of Emma’s milky skin. She raised an approving eyebrow and smiled.

“Well, that’s a start. Shall I keep going?”

“Is that a trick question?”

Regina laughed and stroked Emma’s cheek with her finger. She waved her other hand in the air. Emma looked down at herself and saw that she was now completely naked.

“Hey! That’s cheating!”

“Something told me that it was going to take far too long to prise the skin tight denim from your legs dear.”

Regina raised her hand and cupped one of Emma’s pert breasts, squeezing gently before lowering her mouth to a firm nipple and sucking softly. Emma gasped when she felt Regina’s teeth bite down delicately on her sensitive nipple. Regina pulled away leaving a wet sheen on Emma’s skin. With one hand against the blonde’s chest, she pushed her down so that she was flat on her back underneath her. Regina leaned back slightly and put her hands behind her on Emma’s thighs for support. She started to rub herself against Emma, their sex’s sliding together easily thanks to their combined juices. Emma had a firm grip on the tops of Regina’s thighs and she was helping to move the body on top of hers against her own.

Missing the close contact, Regina laid herself down allowing their bodies to press firmly together. They kissed hard and fast all the while still grinding their cores against each other. Regina moved her hand lower and placed it in between Emma’s legs, easily inserting two fingers causing the blonde to shudder.

“Mmm,”

“Does that feel good, Emma? Would you like me to continue?”

“Yes, god don’t stop!”

But Regina did stop. She pulled her fingers from Emma’s warmth.

“Hey! I said don’t sto…”

Emma was interrupted when Regina’s fingers appeared in front of their mouths. The mayor then put her lips to her fingers before lowering her head to allow Emma’s lips to join her own, and her fingers. After the pair had licked and sucked Regina’s fingers clean, she wasted no time in re inserting them again, this time intending to keep them inside the saviour until she climaxed. Her movements became faster as Emma’s breathing became heavier.

“Fuck, yes oh I’m so close, beautiful.”

At Emma’s words, Regina added a third finger and began to frantically rub her palm against her clitoris. Regina felt Emma’s orgasm close around her fingers and she held her close whilst kissing under her chin. Emma’s moans died down in her throat as her climax neared its end. She then pulled Regina into her arms, which were pebbled with beads of sweat after their love making.

“Shit, that was amazing.”

“Eloquent as ever I see.”

“You bring it out of me.”

“You called me beautiful.”

Emma cleared her throat, clearly a little embarrassed that Regina had mentioned what she had said earlier.

“Yeah, well um, that’s because you are.”

Regina thought it was rather cute when Emma stumbled with her words when embarrassed.

“I am what, dear?”

“Really Regina? You’re going to make me say it?”

Regina made a mock attempt at pushing Emma away from her.

“Well, if you didn’t mean it then that’s fine, I will…”

“You’re beautiful. You are the most infuriatingly beautiful woman I have ever met.”

Emma placed a tiny kiss on the tip of Regina’s nose before laying her head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

“Is this really happening?”

Regina responded whilst drawing lines up and down Emma’s ribs.

“Is what really happening?”

“This, us. I mean it just doesn’t feel real. It’s something that I have thought about for so long, but now it’s happening, I can’t help but feel that it’s not real or that something bad will happen, I mean we are in Storybrooke after all.”

Regina kissed Emma’s shoulder and kept her head tucked in close to her side.

“It is real, Emma, but I know what you mean. There has not been a good track record for happiness in this town but we shouldn’t dwell on that fact. Just look at our bodies, Emma, remember we share something very special. A bond which cannot be broken.”

They both looked at each other’s bodies which were emitting an almost invisible white glow.

“I hope you’re right, your majesty.”

“Ooh, I like that. It sounds so much better coming from you than from an angry fairy-tale mob.”

“You know, I would love to see you in one of your evil queen outfits.”

“Maybe one day.”

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, neither one waking until the sun shone through the windows the next morning.

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

Their last day alone together had started off pretty much the same as the day before. They shared a shower together, taking it in turns to wash the other’s skin and massage shampoo into their scalps. They had teased each other with intimate touches and sensual kisses but they didn’t take things further, choosing to save that for later. They ate breakfast together, albeit a slightly smaller fare compared to yesterday’s feast. They decided on a small walk after breakfast into the woods. They enjoyed being completely alone and walking hand in hand, stealing kisses on the way.

Once they returned home, Regina set about doing a little gardening with Emma sat playing games on her phone, although not being able to concentrate as her gaze kept drifting to Regina bent over and on her knees. Without turning round Regina spoke to Emma.

“Enjoying the view, sheriff?”

“It is a marvellous sight, madam mayor.”

An hour or so later they settled in the lounge, cuddled up together on the couch. The DVD menu was playing continuously on the TV screen as they had got themselves caught up in a heavy make out session before they could even press play.

They started drinking not long after this, switching between Regina’s rather strong batch of apple cider, wine and beer. As time went on and their inhibitions lessened, they would take the opportunity whenever it came up to kiss, touch and basically show affection for each other. They would speak of what they would do to each other once they got to bed that evening, but thanks to their over indulgence in alcohol, they never got past the heavy petting stage, both falling asleep in their underwear whilst spooning in Regina’s large bed.

Emma was woken by the sound of her alarm from her phone, which actually felt like it was vibrating in her head. After much fumbling she finally managed to turn the alarm off and sat herself up. Her hands went to her face and she rubbed at her eyes which were beyond dry. She heard a groan from next to her and then saw a huge frown appear on Regina’s face as she tried to sit up next to her.

“What on earth possessed us to drink so much?”

Emma could only respond with a shake of her head.

Regina put two fingers on each of her temples and closed her eyes.

“That’s a little better.”

“Did you just magic away your hangover?”

“Only the headache, I can’t get rid of any of the other symptoms. Would you like me to help you?”

“Er, yes please!”

Regina made contact with Emma’s temples and once again allowed the magic to flow.

“Better?”

“God yes. I still feel a little queasy but It’s a vast improvement, Thanks. Hey, fancy joining me in the shower to wake ourselves up?”

“We don’t have time for any shenanigans, sheriff.”

Emma made a mock look of offence.

“Who said anything about shenanigans? I simply implied an invigorating shower.”

“Mmhmm, your wiggling eyebrows told a different story.”

Emma went in for a quick kiss before heading for the bathroom, continuing to wiggle her eyebrows up and down for good measure.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Regina couldn’t help but smile at the blonde’s foolishness. As much as it pained her to admit it, she found it rather adorable at times.

Emma was already in the shower with the water going by the time Regina reached the bathroom. She joined Emma in the cubicle and true to her word, Emma kept her hands off Regina, so she decided to tease the blonde a little and test her willpower. She built the shower gel up into a foamy lather and began to massage it over her body, slowing her movements down when she reached her breasts and vagina. She glanced over her shoulder and was pleased to see that Emma was staring at her intently. She guessed that it wouldn’t be much longer before the blonde let her hands wander. Regina bent herself over, reaching down to wash her legs. Her soapy ass threatened to make contact with Emma’s body at any moment. That was apparently all the self-control Emma could handle as a second later she was holding onto Regina’s hips and pulling her back against herself. Once Regina was standing upright again, Emma’s hands snaked themselves around to the older woman’s stomach. With one hand pressed firmly against her abdomen, she ran her other hand up until it rested against Regina’s throat where she gently coaxed her head back so that it was resting on Emma’s clavicle. With Regina’s neck bared in an enticing fashion, Emma bowed her head and set about covering as much of it as possible with her tongue, lips and teeth. Regina was biting her bottom lip and thinking about how quickly the tables had turned as she was now questioning her own willpower, but she was very determined to battle through and leave the blonde wanting more. She turned around to face Emma, placed the quickest of kisses to the corner of her mouth before speaking in a voice as smooth as honey.

“Later, Miss Swan. Later.”

Both women reluctantly went their separate ways after breakfast, Emma to the sheriff’s station and Regina to the mayoral office. David had greeted his daughter with an eager hug and had insisted on staying with her for her first day back to work despite her protests against it. He only left her alone once whilst he went to buy them both some lunch. She had eaten her cheeseburger and bear claw with relish. She absolutely adored Regina’s cooking but her body had missed the greasy sugary goodness of the food from grannys.

Her first day back had been uneventful, the most she had done was sign some forms and take a couple of phone calls. David had stayed on for the evening shift leaving Emma to return to her parent’s apartment where she had dinner with Mary Margaret and Henry. She was glad to see them both but she couldn’t stop her mind from wondering.

“Emma honey, are you ok?”

Mary Margaret was looking at her daughter with concern after she failed to answer her questions.

“What? Um, yeah I’m fine. Just tired I guess. I think I might just go to bed if you guys don’t mind?”

“Of course not. I’m not surprised you are so tired after your first day back at work. Go and get some rest, sweetie.”

Henry looked at her with a toothy grin.

“I don’t mind, anyways you looked like you were going to fall asleep in your dinner.”

Emma ruffled his hair as she got up from the table.

“Night guys.”

Her mother and son just smiled at her as she went up the stairs to her room.

Once inside she stripped down to her underwear and collapsed on the bed with her phone in her hand.

**Emma: How was your day? X**

The reply came through straight away.

**Regina: Busy. Full of meetings. Yours? X**

**E: Boring. Didn’t have much to do x**

**R: Sounds thrilling. X**

**E: I haven’t stopped thinking about you all day x**

**R: I admit you have entered my mind on a few occasions today. X**

**E: Only a few? Gee thanks x**

**R: Stop frowning. I have thought about nothing else but you. Better? X**

**E: Much better. I miss you x**

**R: I miss you too, Emma. X**

**E: I don’t know how I’m going to fall asleep without you next to me Regina x**

**R: I don’t like the idea of it either, but you should at least entertain your parents for a few days. I’m not going anywhere x**

**E: Hmm...** **I want to see you x**

A few moments later Emma sat herself bolt upright on the bed as a cloud of purple smoke appeared in the room. A second later Regina was sat next to Emma on the bed.

“God I love it when you do that.”

Emma flung her arms tightly round Regina’s neck and kissed her reverently. As they pulled away, Regina waved her hand in the direction of the door, making Emma look at her questioningly.

“Silencing spell. Nobody will be able to hear anything inside this room.”

“Seriously? That’s amazing! So we could do _anything_ in here and nobody would hear a thing?”

Emma couldn’t hide the slight excitement in her voice.

“Yes, technically we could do anything, but I don’t think that just laying together on your bed will make much noise, do you?”

“Oh, um no. I guess not.”

Regina couldn’t help but laugh at the look of disappointment on the blonde’s face. She was far too easy to tease.

Emma realised that Regina was messing with her and swatted at the mayor’s leg playfully.

“Ha ha. Tease the loved up sheriff why don’t you.”

“I like to tease.”

Regina was running her fingers up Emma’s arm as she spoke.

“Yes. Yes you do, and I love it. Hey can I try something?”

“That all depends on what it is you want to try.”

Emma was now holding on to one of the sleeves on Regina’s blouse.

“I want to strip you using magic.”

“I’m not so sure that would be wise, Emma.”

Emma looked a little disappointed, but persisted.

“Oh come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Regina chuckled before responding.

“Well I don’t fancy being set on fire if I’m being honest.”

Emma rolled her eyes at Regina and took her hands in her own.

“I would never do that to you!”

“Not on purpose no, but your magic is still very new and unpredictable.”

Emma was now giving the woman in front of her the puppy dog eyes.

“Come on, please please please please?!”

Regina let out an exasperated sigh and stood herself next to the bed.

“You sound just like our son. Fine, you can try but I’m serious, Emma, you need to pay close attention to what you are doing.”

“Snap!”

Emma jumped off the bed excitedly and performed a solo fist bump. Regina had now raised a disapproving eyebrow and had her hands planted firmly on her hips. Emma noticed the mayor’s seriousness and calmed herself down.

“Ok, sorry. I’m concentrating.”

Regina let her arms fall to her side and she stood with her feet, hip width apart.

“Ready when you are, Miss Swan.”

Emma nodded in response and cleared her throat. She was staring at Regina intently and began to will away the clothes which covered the gorgeous woman in front of her. She frowned at what she saw. As well as the clothes she was already dressed in, she now had the added addition of a black turtleneck sweater.

“I am very intrigued to know what you were thinking off to have managed to _add_ layers to my attire.”

“Damn it! Let me try again.”

This time Emma was determined to get it right. She needed to see what was under those expensive clothes.

“Hot damn, that’s much better.”

Emma was grinning smugly as she eyed her handiwork. Regina had been stripped down to her bra and panties. A deep purple and black ensemble.

“Well done, dear. Now it’s your turn.”

With a brief flick of her wrist, Emma looked down to find herself also in her underwear.

“I find it much more fun to remove certain items of clothing with my hands. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Most definitely.”

Regina sat herself down at the foot of the bed and beckoned Emma over to her with an outstretched hand. The blonde took the offered hand and stood in between the older woman’s legs before laying her hands on the slender shoulders before her. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma’s body and grabbed hold of her firm ass, squeezing each cheek zealously as she kissed the well-defined muscles just above her naval which a moment later was filled with Regina’s probing tongue. Emma had buried her hands in the other woman’s dark hair, using her fingers to massage down at the roots. She brought her hands around to cup both sides of Regina’s face and tilted it up so that she was looking down into the darkest brown eyes, love and desire staring back at her. She crashed her lips against Regina’s with enough force to make them fall flat on the bed, Emma laying on top of the older woman. The kiss was broken and Emma began the slow descent down Regina’s perfect body, exploring every inch of exposed skin with her tongue and kiss swollen lips. Emma paused when she reached the soft mound of the mayor’s breast, moving her hands underneath her body where she began to fumble with the bra’s fastening. With the limited space for her hands to move around she was having difficulty in unclasping said bra. Regina looked up at Emma’s face and saw that she had her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. She couldn’t help but chuckle at how adorable the saviour looked at that moment.

Regina raised her body slightly, leaning on her elbows to allow easier access for Emma. She also took the opportunity to take Emma’s tongue in between her lips and sucked on it gently, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from the blonde’s mouth. With the extra space to move her hands, Emma easily unclasped Regina’s bra and pulled it off. She went straight back to Regina’s now bare breasts, swirling her tongue around a quickly hardening nipple then proceeding to suck it, all the while softly massaging the other breast with her hand. Emma carried on her journey down Regina’s body, kissing ribs, a belly button and a slightly ticklish waist before finally reaching her desired destination. She kissed Regina’s damp panties then decided to tease her a little more and make her wait by taking one of Regina’s legs in her hands and starting with the arch of a pedicured foot, kissed and trailed her tongue upwards, covering a dainty ankle, toned calf and luxuriously soft thigh before once again reaching Regina’s core. She placed one more kiss on the material before removing them and throwing them unceremoniously over her shoulder. Emma could feel the warmth of Regina against her face and she breathed in her essence which spurred on her own arousal. Regina could feel Emma’s hot breath against her ready sex. She raised her head from the bed so that she could look at the sheriff between her legs and plead with her eyes for her to start fucking her before she explodes. She took both of Emma’s hands in her own, entwining their fingers together and resting them on her hips.

“Emma, please. Please make love to me.”

The blonde waited no longer, pressing her tongue against Regina, starting from her opening and trailing a line up to her throbbing clitoris. Regina took a sharp intake of breath between clenched teeth and arched her back off the bed with pleasure. Emma began to circle her tongue around the increasingly hardening bud then sucking on it with vigour. She made her way back down to Regina’s opening then inserted her tongue as deeply as she could, relishing the taste of the older woman’s juices as they entered her mouth. As she continued to penetrate Regina with her tongue, she took one of the mayor’s hands and guided it down, implying that she wanted to watch Regina touch herself whilst she continued to insert her tongue. Regina surprised herself by doing as Emma wanted. She had never pleasured herself in front of another person before and she never thought that she would, but this felt right to her. She was eager to please her lover, becoming unselfish sexually for the first time in her life. She began to rub small, slow circles against her clitoris as Emma continued to enter her. They maintained eye contact as Regina approached her climax.

“Emma, I’m close..”

Emma gently moved Regina’s hand away and swiftly inserted two of her own fingers, pumping at an increasing rate as she licked across her clitoris, matching the pace of her fingers. A moment later Regina let out a cry of pleasure and tensed her thighs against Emma’s head as her orgasm pulsed through her.

Once the aftershocks wore off, Regina reached out and brought the blonde up to her and stole a loving kiss before pulling her into her arms and nestling her head against Emma’s chest.

“That was wonderful.”

“Yes, yes it was.”

Regina was absently running her fingers up and down Emma’s back whilst speaking.

“But I haven’t even got to you yet.”

Emma chuckled into Regina’s hair.

“Trust me, that felt just as amazing for me as it did for you. I don’t think you realise how happy being between your thighs makes me.”

Regina couldn’t help but flush slightly.

“Charming as always, dear.”

“Runs in the family.”

“I don’t really want to think about your family just after making love if you don’t mind.”

“Duly noted.”

Emma yawned loudly above Regina’s head.

“I’m sorry, am I boring you?”

“God no! I just feel tired after my first day back at work.”

They were silent for a few minutes, happy to just gently caress each other’s skin.

“Regina?”

“Yes, Emma?”

“I don’t want you to leave me tonight.”

“Then I won’t.”

“What?”

Emma hadn’t expected that response. She thought that Regina would say something about her not wanting to leave either but that it would be for the best.

“Please pay attention. I said that I won’t leave you tonight.”

“I heard what you said, I just didn’t think that you would agree. Do you want to stay, or are you just doing it because I want you to?”

“Emma, like I told you before we have a special bond which we have no control over. It means that we will find it hard to be apart at this early stage of our relationship. I want to be here just as much as you want me here.”

Emma smiled now content in the knowledge that Regina was staying and that she actually wanted to.

“Without wanting to sound too needy, can you just hold me, Regina as I fall asleep?”

Regina smiled broadly and kissed the top of Emma’s head.

“Of course I can, darling.”

A few minutes later Emma was fast asleep and Regina joined her not long after.

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

Regina had been awake for the past hour but had decided to let Emma sleep for a little longer. She was happy to lay there watching the blonde’s chest rising and falling slowly with each breath whilst she ran her fingers over Emma’s hair. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt so relaxed. She wasn’t thinking about anything other than the woman that she loved who was lying in her arms. Regina never thought in her wildest dreams that she would ever have her own happy ending, but as she looked at Emma sleeping peacefully she realised that she was well on her way. She knew that she certainly didn’t deserve to have a happy ending, not with her sordid past, but she hadn’t been that woman for a long time. She was trying to be a better person, for Henry, for herself and now for Emma also. There were some parts of the evil queen which would never completely leave her, such as her fiery quick temper or the way she used sarcasm in nearly every conversation.

Regina looked at the time on Emma’s phone and saw that it was almost time to start getting ready for work. She began to stroke Emma’s cheek and pecked tiny kisses across her face and head until the blonde started to stir and wake up.

“I want to wake up like this every morning.”

“Yes, I wouldn’t mind that either. Did you sleep well?”

“Like a baby. How long have you been awake?”

“An hour or so. I wanted to let you sleep some more.”

“An hour? Weren’t you bored?”

“No, dear. I was occupied by thinking about things and watching you sleep.”

“That should be creepy, but I love that you did that.”

They shared a brief kiss as there was a knock on the bedroom door.

“Emma sweetie, are you up? I made breakfast.”

Regina rolled her eyes and waved her hand towards the door, undoing the silencing spell.

“Yeah I’m up, I will be down in a bit.”

They heard Mary Margaret make her way back down the stairs.

“I think it’s time for me to go home. Would you like to join me for lunch at my office later?”

“It’s a date.”

They kissed then, hard and fervently before Regina reluctantly pulled away from Emma and stood next to the bed.

“I love you, Emma.”

“I love you too, Regina.”

And with that Regina was gone, leaving Emma with a grin on her face, but also instantly longing for her partner.

 

Emma entered the diner after a particularly stressful morning at work. Everything that could possibly go wrong did just that. She couldn’t wait to see Regina and just forget about everything else for a while. She took a seat at the counter and waited for Ruby to take her order.

“Hey, stranger, I haven’t seen you for ages! How have you been?”

Emma couldn’t help but smile at Ruby’s excitement at seeing her.

“Hey, Ruby. Well apart from a shitty morning at work I’m doing great thanks. How about you?”

“Yeah, same old same old. Nothing new with me. What can I get you?”

“I’ll have a burger with fries and also a grilled chicken salad to go please.”

Ruby raised a knowing eyebrow but said nothing, choosing to just go ahead and put the sheriff’s order in at the kitchen. Ten minutes later Ruby placed a brown paper bag on the counter in front of Emma. She paid the bill and thanked Ruby before making her way to the mayor’s office.

Emma knocked on the office door and waited for an answer, but when none came she slowly opened the door and peeped inside. Regina was sat behind her desk and speaking to someone on the telephone. When she spotted Emma she smiled briefly and beckoned her in with her hand. Emma closed the door behind her quietly and approached the desk where she placed down the lunch bag. Whilst she waited for Regina to finish with her phone call, Emma went and looked out of the window. She looked down at the apple tree and thought about when she had taken a chainsaw to it all those months ago. She remembered how exhilarating it had felt to do it and how Regina had looked at her. She wasn’t sure if the mayor had wanted to kill her or kiss her. Emma did feel bad now though at having mutilated something that Regina held very close to her heart. She turned and took the few steps forward and was standing behind Regina’s chair. She put her hands on the mayor’s shoulders and began to massage them gently. She could feel Regina’s body relax under her touch. Emma then brushed aside a mane of dark hair from the other woman’s neck and began to kiss the exposed skin. Regina tensed and tilted her head more to the side to allow Emma more access.

“Robert, I’m going to have to call you back. Something important has come up.”

Regina dropped the phone on her desk, closed her eyes and reached behind her and cupped the back of Emma’s head.

“Mmm, well this is a most welcome distraction, Sheriff.”

“Good, that was the intention.”

Regina turned her head a little and captured Emma’s lips with her own before Emma wrapped her arms tightly around Regina’s shoulders and sighed into the crook of her neck.

“Everything ok?”

“I had a shitty morning. I feel better now after seeing you.”

They kissed once more and then Emma took the seat on the opposite side of the desk and took their lunch out of the bag, handing Regina her salad and then tucking into her own grease ridden feast. They ate their meals whilst talking about each other’s mornings and their plans for the rest of the day.

“Regina, I know that you wanted to keep what we have together between us for now, but I was thinking, and I know it’s probably a little too late for this, but I really want to take you out on a date.”

“A date?”

Emma was looking down at her hands which were fiddling with a napkin in her lap.

“Don’t worry about it, it was just a silly idea.”

“I would love to go on a date with you, Emma.”

The blonde looked up and saw that Regina was smiling sweetly at her. The sight made her heart swell.

“Ok, well how do you want to do it? Do you still want to keep everything a secret, or can we do something in town?”

“I don’t think I mind either way, but if we do end up going somewhere where others may see us, then we have to tell your parents and Henry what is going on beforehand. I don’t want them finding out through town gossip.”

“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to take you on a date anymore.”

“Nice try, but I have never been on a date before and I’m actually quite excited at the thought of it.”

“You’ve never been on a date? Wow, ok well in that case I can’t wait to be your first. Ok so I have an idea, how about you tell my parents and I tell Henry!”

Regina raised an eyebrow and smirked at Emma.

“Trust me, dear, you wouldn’t want me to break the news to your parents. I would take great pleasure in scarring them for life.”

“Fine, we will do it the other way around then. I will tell Mary Margaret and David tonight at dinner and you can do the same with Henry, deal?”

“Deal. Now I think we both should get back to work, I have an appointment in five minutes. I will speak to you later tonight.”

After a few drawn out kisses and a hug goodbye, the pair carried on with their day.

 

Emma had been building up the courage to speak to her parents about her relationship with Regina all through dinner, and when she realised that she couldn’t put it off anymore, she quickly downed the last few mouthfuls of her beer before starting.

“So um, I wanted to tell you guys something. As you know I have been spending a lot of time with Regina lately..”

Mary Margaret nodded her head enthusiastically whilst swallowing a mouthful of food.

“Yes, and we are very grateful about how she has looked after you since your accident.”

David was nodding in agreement at the same time as tucking into a bread roll. Emma cleared her throat and continued.

“Yeah, she has been great. Look there is no easy way to say this, so I might as well come out and just say it.”

Both of her parents were now looking at her with worried expressions. David was happy to let his wife speak.

“Emma sweetie, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. Ok, the thing is, me and Regina are kind of dating.”

Emma looked up from her empty beer bottle and almost laughed at the identical shocked expressions on her parent’s faces. She was very tempted to get her phone out and take a picture so that she could send it to Regina, who she knew would appreciate it greatly.

“Guys, please say something, you’re killing me here.”

David took the lead this time, leaving Mary Margaret to stare open mouthed at their daughter.

“Ok, I assume that you aren’t joking.”

“No dad, I’m not joking. We are in a relationship.”

“Well I hope that you can understand that it is going to take a little time for your mother and me to come to terms with this. Regina isn’t someone who we would have imagined you being with.”

Emma exhaled with relief. She knew that this conversation could have gone a lot worse, although she wanted to know what her mom had to say about it, so she tried to pull her out of her daze.

“Mom? Are you going to say anything?”

Mary Margaret seemed to snap herself back to the present. She frowned and looked as though she was going to say something negative, but paused and gave Emma a small smile instead.

“Emma, you are our daughter and we love you more than anything in this world. As much as it pains me to say it, you are a full grown woman who can make her own decisions in life. I trust you to know what you are doing, and as cliché as this sounds, as long as you are happy, we will be happy. But what your father said is true, we will need a little time to process this.”

Emma felt elated. She never thought that her parents would take this news so well. She expected sobbing and shouting. Without thinking she got up from her seat and made her way around to her parents, hugging them both briefly.

“Thank you. It means a lot to me to have your support. I love you both.”

There were indeed tears then, but they came from a happy place.

 

Across town Regina and Henry had just taken their seats to eat dinner when she decided it was time to start talking.

“Henry, I have something I want to tell you.”

The boy didn’t even look up from his plate and continued to load up his fork with chicken as he replied.

“Ok, what is it?”

“It’s about Emma and myself. You might be seeing her around here a bit more than usual.”

“I know.”

“We have been spending a lot of time tog…. Wait, you know? What do you know sweetheart?”

“I know that you and Emma have become really close and that you are happy when you are together.”

Regina took a moment to look at her son. He was growing up to be a wonderfully insightful young man.

“Well yes, that’s all true, Henry. In fact we have started dating. What do you think about that?”

Henry’s face lit up across the table and any reservations Regina may have had about her son’s opinion on her new relationship dissolved.

“I think its great, mom. You make each other happy, so that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes Henry, it’s a very good thing. Now if you are finished please take your plate into the kitchen and then get started on your homework.”

Regina had gone into mom mode, but she maintained a side smile as she spoke. Henry stood with his plate in his hands and walked around to his mother’s side and quickly kissed her cheek before leaving her in the dining room. Regina quickly cleared away the rest of the dishes and entered her study where she sat herself down at her desk and rang Emma.

“Hey, Regina.”

“Hello, Emma. Can you talk?”

“Yeah, I’m in my room. So how did it go with Henry?”

“Very well. As suspected he already knew that something was changing between us. He actually looked excited when I confirmed that we were dating.”

Emma was grinning from ear to ear. She was so proud of their son.

“That’s great! Give him a big kiss from me.”

“I will dear. Dare I ask how it went with your parents?”

“Surprisingly well. I was pretty shocked about their reactions. They gave the whole ‘as long as you’re happy, we’re happy’ speech and just asked for a little time to get used to the idea.”

“No tears? I’m rather disappointed.”

Regina made sure to keep some lightness in her tone.

“Regina Mills…”

“I’m just teasing you. I’m happy that they are so accepting. So I think that you had better start planning our first date.”

Emma couldn’t hide her excitement. She felt just like a teenager again, and she loved it.

“I honestly can’t wait! I think we should do it this Saturday. I can arrange for Henry to stay here with his grandparents for the night.”

“Sounds like a plan. Will you be enlightening me with any details of this date, or is it to be a surprise?”

“A surprise of course. I think I’m going to really regret suggesting this, but maybe we should not spend any nights together until then, so that we enjoy the company even more on the date.”

“Are you saying that you wouldn’t enjoy my company if we saw each other before the date?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant. I’m not explaining myself very well.”

“Story of your life, dear.”

“Haha, very funny. I still want to see you before then, meet for lunch and things, but just not the evenings, I guess it might build up some nice tension or something?”

“Ok, I trust your theory.”

“Good, now magic your ass here and kiss me goodnight.”

Regina actually laughed out loud and was still laughing when she appeared in Emma’s room. She took the small step forward and lost herself in the blonde’s arms.

“I love it when you use your magic, it’s friggin hot!.”

They kissed deeply and began to tear at each other’s clothes before coming to the realisation that now was not an appropriate time. They stood with their foreheads touching and said their goodbyes.

“Goodnight, darling, I love you.”

“I love you too, sweet dreams, my queen.”

Regina wasn’t sure if she approved of being called a queen by Emma, but quickly realised that without the word ‘evil’ being attached to it, she kind of liked it.

There was one more chaste kiss before Emma was once again in her room standing alone with the lingering smell of Regina tantalising her.

 

The rest of the week leading up to their date was dragging for the two women. They stuck to their plan and spent all of their evenings apart from each other which felt like torture, but they ensured that they met for lunch each day. On the Friday before their date, not long after Emma had left the mayor’s office following their lunch appointment, a huge bouquet of different coloured roses were delivered to Regina from a rather shy game of thorns delivery boy. Regina had tipped the young man generously and read the little card sat amongst the flowers.

_Regina,_

_I hope that you like the flowers. Did you notice_

_the pale purple roses? They convey (and I quote)_

_“A sense of regal majesty and splendour.” They are also_

_given as a sign of adoration and fascination. Well they_

_don’t come more regal than you my queen. I truly do_

_adore you and find you fascinating in every way. I can’t wait for_

_our date tomorrow._

_All my love, Emma xx_

Regina had spent the rest of the day staring at the flowers and re reading the card over and over again. It took her breath away sometimes as she thought about how dramatically her life had changed over the past few months. She had never felt happiness like this before, but there was a part of her which constantly lived in fear that her happiness would be taken away from her, just like it always had in the past. She tried her hardest to not let these feelings rule her life though and just enjoy the here and now. Regina went home that night with roses in her arms, a smile on her face and butterflies in her stomach as she thought about her impending date with her saviour.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song featured is Billie Holiday's "The very thought of you"

 

Saturday finally came and so did Emma’s nerves. She had made all of the arrangements for the date over the past few days and in doing so left herself nothing to prepare for on the actual day of the date. She had put her name down to work a few hours at the station just to pass some time and hopefully take her mind off her snowballing nerves. Emma lasted all of one hour before David sent her home after she bit his head off for the tenth time. She had apologised and blamed it on her nerves. David had chuckled at his daughter and gave her a bear hug before sending her home. She had gone back to the empty apartment, her mother and Henry had gone to the beach for the day, leaving her alone to sift through her minimal wardrobe to pick out an outfit. She had pulled out every item and thrown them on the bed, making it easier to sort through. If she had her way she would wear jeans and a tank top, but she desperately wanted to impress Regina. She had finally chosen her outfit and put it to one side. She showered and went about fixing her hair and make-up.

Across town Regina had spent her day pottering around the mansion completing random chores and doing some gardening in an attempt to pass some time. She told herself that she wasn’t nervous, but as the hours went by it was becoming less and less true. Regina had always prided herself on being well prepared and so had already picked her outfit out two days previously and it didn’t take her long to apply her make-up and style her hair, which had left time to spare before Emma was due to pick her up. She had sat nervously waiting in her study with a glass of her apple cider.

Emma pulled up outside the mansion ten minutes early, and took some deep calming breaths before approaching the front door. With a final nervous sigh she knocked loudly and waited for her date. It only took a few moments for the door to open and reveal Regina stood in the doorway. Both women looked at each other with their mouths open slightly as they absorbed the sight before them. Regina was wearing a figure hugging black dress which had arms to the elbow and stopped an inch above the knee. She had applied dark, smoky eye-shadow which made her eyes appear a shade darker than normal, almost becoming black.

Regina eyed Emma up and down, very impressed with what she was seeing. The blonde was also wearing a dress, which was just as tight fitting as Regina’s, but it was a dark maroon red with shoulder straps and came down to Emma’s knees. She had chosen to wear her hair down and kept her make-up simple, just adding extra eyeliner to her already mascaraed eyes. Regina was tempted to scrap the date altogether and drag the blonde up to her bedroom, but she figured she would just do that later. She watched as Emma pulled a single red rose from behind her back and offered it to her. She took the solitary flower and inhaled the aroma as she smiled sweetly.

“Thank you, Emma, let me just take care of this and then I’m all yours.”

“Yeah, you are.”

Emma was smiling insanely which earned her an eye roll from the mayor and also a little smirk which tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Would you like a drink before we leave?”

Emma exhaled loudly, grateful for the offer of something which may stem her nerves.

“That would be great, thanks.”

The two women made their way into the study, Regina taking a pair of scissors from her desk and cutting the rose to length.

“Could you be a dear and pour out two glasses of cider? Or something different for yourself if you wish.”

Emma did as she was asked, pouring the amber liquid into two tumblers. She handed one over to Regina who had just finished adding the rose to the bouquet that she had received from Emma the day before. Regina noticed that Emma was avoiding eye contact with her. The blonde had turned away from the mayor and was clearly just pretending to look interested in a picture hanging above the fireplace. Regina stepped up behind Emma and snaked an arm around her middle and rested her chin on her shoulder.

“Everything okay?”

She felt Emma shiver slightly against her and assumed it had something to do with her breathing against her ear, something she knew turned the sheriff on immensely. Emma covered the hand which was pressed against the flat of her stomach with her own before answering.

“If you keep doing that we won’t end up leaving the house at all. But seriously, I’m nervous as hell, Regina. I know that we are already together and we have a special bond and stuff, but I don’t want to screw this night up. It’s your first ever date and I just want it to be special for you.”

Regina placed a kiss against Emma’s sensitive neck and tightened her grip around her body. It amazed her how attentive Emma was around her. No matter what they were doing she would always make Regina feel special. It was something that the former evil queen wasn’t used to, but she revelled in it just the same.

“Sweetheart as long as you are there it will be special. I couldn’t ask for anything more than to just have you with me.”

Emma turned around and pressed her forehead lightly against Regina’s.

“Drink up. I've been waiting for this date all week and I don’t wish to delay it any longer than necessary.”

They shared a brief kiss before both finishing their drinks. It was Regina’s second drink of the night and she could feel the warm and fuzzy effect that the alcohol was having on her. They abandoned their glasses and finally made their way out of the mansion. When they reached the street, Emma opened the passenger door of her bug, gesturing with a hand for Regina to get in the car. The mayor hated the offensive sight that was Emma’s car and normally wouldn’t hesitate to comment as such, but she didn’t feel the need for sarcastic banter tonight.

Emma never mentioned where they were headed and Regina didn’t ask. In-fact they spent the entire short car journey in a comfortable silence, happy to just hold hands and smile at each other. They pulled up outside The rabbit hole and Emma quickly excited the car so that she could open Regina’s door for her.

“I feel a little over dressed for a bar, Emma.”

Regina was frowning slightly, but there was no malice in her voice.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be here for long.”

Emma took Regina’s hand and walked them into the noisy bar. They went straight to one of the booths near the back and sat sitting opposite each other. Regina had noticed that a few of the bar dwellers had watched them enter and had stared at their joined hands, but nobody had actually said anything and by the time they were seated, everybody had continued with their own business.

“What do you want to drink, Regina?”

“Red wine please.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Regina watched as Emma approached the bar to place their drinks order. She found that she was unable to take her eyes off her date. Emma clearly sensed that she was being watched and took a peek over her shoulder at Regina who was indeed watching her, and now winking at her. Emma felt her insides twist with pure desire for the woman sat in the booth. The blonde took the drinks back over to the booth and got herself comfortable.

“You know, anyone would think you wanted to cut this date short with the all of the teasing going on.”

Regina put on her best mayoral mask and appeared deadly serious as she responded.

“I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to, miss Swan.”

Emma actually contemplated that Regina might be being serious, that was until she felt a heeled foot rub seductively up and down her bare shin. Regina took a sip of her wine and then ran her tongue along her bottom lip.

“You.are.killing.me.woman.”

Emma took one of Regina’s hands and kissed the soft skin across her knuckles before swiftly downing the remainder of her bottle of beer. Sensing Emma’s urge to move on, Regina followed suite and gulped down her wine.

They left the bar hand in hand and walked along the main street with Regina growing more curious as to what to expect next. Her confusion only grew when they were stood outside the town library. Regina couldn’t help but frown at their destination. Before she could say anything, she felt Emma gently squeeze her hand.

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Regina answered without any hesitation.

“Good. Now come on.”

Emma placed a quick kiss on Regina’s cheek before pushing the doors open and leading them both into the library. It was completely empty and dimly lit inside. Emma walked them to the rear of the building and then opened a small wooden door revealing a staircase. The only light was coming from the moon shining through several tiny windows so they took the journey up the stairs nice and slowly. Once they reached the top, Emma pushed opened the fire escape door and led them onto the roof of the library. When Regina stepped out from behind Emma she could see a small table with two chairs on either side. There was a cooler box sat on the floor nearby and a little further away was what looked like a bunch of quilts all piled together forming a large square.

Emma walked to the table and pulled out one of the chairs for Regina to sit on. The blonde then knelt down and started pulling some things out of the large cooler box. A moment later there were two plates of chicken Caesar salad in-front of both women along with two flutes of champagne. Regina struggled to find any words to say to Emma once everything was set out. She was in awe that Emma had taken the trouble to set this up for her. It was perfect. Outside of the confines of her house, but also completely private and away from prying eyes.

“Regina, is everything ok?”

The older woman only then noticed that a few stray tears were running down her face. She quickly wiped them away and then took hold of Emma’s hands.

“Everything is perfect. Emma, nobody has ever put so much thought into doing something for me. I can’t quite believe it. It’s such an amazing feeling to feel loved again.”

Emma had to pull one of her hands away to wipe at her own tears which had started to fall at Regina’s words.

“You deserve it, Regina. Now is the time for your happiness.”

“I’m not worthy of it. All of the things that I have done in the past, I..”

“Stop it, Regina. Just stop. The past is the past. It can’t be changed, but you can, and you have. You are not the same person you used to be. You are worthy of feeling love. Don’t ever say that you aren’t again, do you hear me?”

Regina gave a small nod in response and sat herself upright in her chair, clearing her throat as she did so.

“Ok, I think that’s enough of that for one day. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin this perfect evening with what I said.”

“It’s not ruined, Regina. It has only just begun. Now, let’s eat.”

The two women squeezed each other’s hands once more before finally tucking into their dinner.

After their salad, Emma pulled out their dessert, strawberries with cream. After they had finished all of the food, Regina nodded over towards the pile of quilts.

“May I ask what they are for?”

“You will see soon enough. But I want to do something else first.”

Emma pulled out a small portable speaker from a bag which was sat behind the cooler box, and set it up with an ipod which was also in the bag. A few moments later mellow music could be heard coming from the speaker. Emma stood in-front of Regina and offered her hand out to her.

“Dance with me.”

Regina silently took Emma’s hand and allowed herself to be moved away from the table to give them more space to move. Regina placed her head against Emma’s chest and laced one arm around her waist and the other clasped a hand which was held close between their bodies. Emma had rested her cheek on top of Regina’s silky hair and held the other woman close as their bodies began to sway to the music.

“Billie Holiday.”

Emma smiled and softly kissed Regina’s head.

“Yeah, I love to listen to her music, and I saw that you had some of her albums in your study so I thought it would be a good match.”

Regina let out a contented sigh and allowed herself to get totally lost in the moment.

“Emma?”

“Yes, beautiful?”

“Don’t ever leave me. I don’t think I could stand being without you.”

Emma pulled Regina closer against her.

“I will never let you go, Regina. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me now.”

“I don’t want this evening to end. I haven’t felt happiness like this for so long.”

“I love this side of you, Regina Mills.”

“You bring it out of me. It’s reserved for you and Henry only.”

They continued to dance for a long time, both content in each other’s arms and revelling in the intimacy of it all. It was Emma who finally pulled them out of their moment, leaning back slightly and taking Regina’s face in her hands, she placed the softest of kisses to Regina’s lips. She then took one of Regina’s hands and started to walk over to the quilts. Emma sat herself down first then helped Regina down to join her. They laid themselves flat on their backs and laced their fingers together between them. Regina was looking up at the night sky with a small smile on her face.

“It’s beautiful.”

Emma had her head turned slightly and was looking directly at the woman next to her.

“Yes it is.”

Realising that Emma was talking about her, Regina turned to face her lover and smiled shyly.

“You should be looking up there, dear.”

“I will, I’m just admiring a different view right now.”

Regina coyly bit her bottom lip just before Emma lightly traced her tongue over where her teeth had just been. Regina held onto Emma’s chin and turned her head so that she was looking up.

“Eyes up, darling.”

Emma let out a little sigh, but did as she was told. Both women now taking in the sight of the millions of stars above them. They laid there for at least half an hour without uttering a single word to each other, just admiring the night sky, sharing soft kisses and continuing to listen to the faint music coming from behind them. It wasn’t until Regina started to shiver slightly at the ever cooling air around them that either of them spoke.

“It’s getting cold, would you like me to take you home, Regina?”

“Yes. Emma take me home and make love to me.”

“God I love you. Do you think you could take us both there right now? I don’t think I can wait the twenty minutes it will take to walk there.”

Regina laughed at the blonde’s request but a second later they were engulfed in Regina’s magic and transported directly into her bedroom.

“Have I ever told you I love it when you do magic?”

“Once or twice, yes.”

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck and pulled her down into a loving kiss. Emma was trailing her hands up and down the expanse of Regina’s back, pulling her close as she did so. Regina turned herself around, pressed her back against Emma’s front and pulled the saviours strong arms around her waist before interlocked their fingers together which then rested against Regina’s stomach. Using her nose, Emma nudged Regina’s hair to the side revealing more of her neck which she wasted no time in attaching her lips to, sucking, licking and biting in equal measure, being spurred on more each time Regina moaned with pleasure.

Emma released one of her hands from Regina’s and took hold of the zipper at the top of the other woman’s dress. She then proceeded to pull the zip down at a painfully slow rate, kissing every inch of skin that became exposed during the process until she reached the dip in Regina’s lower back. Gripping onto both sides, Emma pulled the dress from Regina’s shoulders and let it fall to her waist. She then continued to pull it down over Regina’s hips until it fell to the floor. Regina stepped out of the dress and kicked it to one side. Once again Regina was stood before her in just her underwear and heels, just how Emma liked it. The blonde stood back slightly to enable her to take in the exquisite sight before her. Regina could see a mixture of adoration and lust in Emma’s eyes and she repeated her earlier request to the woman who appeared paralysed before her.

“Make love to me, Emma. Please.”

This seemed to break Emma from her trance as a moment later she was running her fingers through Regina’s dark hair and kissing her passionately.

“Will you help me out of my dress?”

Regina looked deep into Emma’s bright emerald eyes, not breaking contact for even a second as she reached around and pulled down on the zip of the maroon dress. Emma pulled her arms free and helped lower the dress to the floor and like Regina, stepped out of it and kicked it to one side. The two women now stood before each other in their underwear and heels, each marvelling at what they saw.

The sight of Regina running her tongue across her top lip was enough to make Emma start moving forward towards the bed, pulling the woman she loved so very much along with her. Emma sat herself down on the edge of the bed and pulled Regina to stand in-between her legs. With her arms wrapped around soft olive thighs, she was able to cup each one of Regina’s ass cheeks in the palm of her hands. She squeezed gently as she placed hot burning kisses across the waistband of Regina’s panties. Panties, which a few seconds later were removed and thrown across the room. Emma could feel the heat emitting from Regina’s core as she pressed her forehead just below her navel. The scent of the other woman’s arousal had her own juices flowing more than they already were, leaving her practically dripping. Feeling suddenly desperate to have the older woman in her mouth, she laid herself down on the bed and pulled Regina on top of her, ensuring that her legs were on either side of Emma’s body. The blonde kept guiding Regina’s body further up her own making it clear where she wanted her to be. Finally with her thighs on either side of Emma’s head, Regina lowered herself down so that she was only an inch or so away from Emma’s face.

Emma laced her fingers with Regina’s and allowed her arms to fully support the weight of the woman above her. Emma extended her tongue as far as she could and lifted her head off the bed, managing to swipe through Regina’s wet folds briefly, encouraging the older woman to completely lower herself onto Emma.

Regina found herself closing her eyes and tilting her head back as she felt Emma’s tongue penetrate deep inside of her. When Emma had first pulled her into this position, a brief wave of panic had washed over her. She had never done anything that felt quite as intimate as this, but the moment was gone as soon as she felt Emma’s fingers lace with her own. She felt safe and she trusted Emma with every fibre of her being.

Emma pushed her tongue inside of Regina as deeply as she could, repeating the movement several times before trailing a line from her opening to her stiffening bud and back again. Her mouth sucked on one labia before moving on to the other. She then flicked her tongue across Regina’s clit, spreading her arousal and creating a rhythm with her tongue which was matched by Regina’s eager thrusting of her hips up and down. Regina’s breathing was becoming more laboured now as she neared her climax.

“Emma, I need, I need you to hold me.”

As soon as the words had left Regina’s lips, Emma carefully pushed up with her arms and managed to gently roll her lover onto her back. With one arm tucked protectively around Regina’s shoulders and the other moving to sit in-between her legs, Emma pulled Regina into her as close as she possibly could, hoping to make the woman feel all the want that she had for her.

In this new position, Regina was able to use her hands to pull down Emma’s underwear. As soon as they were removed, she cupped her hand onto Emma’s sex, resulting in a low growl from the blonde.

“Regina, I want you inside me. I want us to cum together.”

Emma knew that it wouldn’t take long for her to reach her peak. Having Regina bared on top of her mouth had turned her on like nothing had ever done before.

Regina wasted no time in inserting two fingers deep inside of Emma and gently using her palm to rub against her clit. Emma for her part mirrored Regina’s actions, the pair now moving together in sync. The movements became increasingly faster as each woman held on before tumbling over the edge of pleasure.

“Emma…I’m ready..”

That was all Emma needed to hear. She began to thrust deeper and faster into her lover, at the same time feeling her own impending orgasm take hold.

“I’m there, Regina, I… I love you so much.”

“I love you, Emma….”

And with their declarations made, they finally gave in to the powerful orgasms which coursed through each of them. They had kissed during the shared climax, drowning out the moans of pleasure which tried to escape. They were still kissing now as their bodies shuddered and came down from their high.

“Move in with me.”

“What?”

“I want you to move in, with myself and Henry. I want your face to be that last thing I see before I fall asleep and the first thing I see when I wake each morning. I want us to be a family Emma.”

Emma swiftly sat herself up and ran her fingers through her sex tangled hair.

“I, I need to use the bathroom.”

In a matter of seconds Emma freed herself from the warm bed sheets and hurried herself into the adjoining bathroom, shutting the door behind her with an audible click. All Regina could do was stare at the closed door and pray that she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her life. She knew it was still very early on in their relationship, but considering all that they had been through together she figured that this was the right thing to do. It had felt right at that moment to ask Emma, but now she felt sick to her stomach.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually ten minutes, Regina couldn’t wait any longer. She got out of bed and pulled on her short silk robe which was hanging over the back of a chair. She tightened the belt, took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door.

“Emma?”

There was no answer from the blonde, but when Regina pressed her ear up to the door, she thought she could hear crying.

“Emma, I’m coming in.”

After still no response Regina slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped inside. She saw Emma sat on the floor with her back pressed up against the bath tub and her knees tucked in tight against her chest. Her body was shaking slightly as she cried into her hands. Regina approached slowly, wanting nothing more than to take Emma in her arms and hold her, but she resisted the urge, not wanting to make the situation worse. Instead she sank to her knees next to Emma and just looked at her.

“Emma, I’m so sorry. I never should have asked you to move in like that. If it’s too soon or if you are even having second thoughts about us, then please tell me. I never meant to upset you. Please Emma, look at me.”

Emma did look at her. Her eyes were red and fresh tears were still falling freely. The sight made Regina’s own eyes fill up. She risked reaching out to Emma, placing her hand upon one of her knees which thankfully Emma didn’t react to.

“Talk to me, Emma. What are you thinking?”

“Regina, I… please, please just hold me.”

Regina curled up as close to Emma as she could and pulled the younger woman into her arms.

Emma tucked her head into Regina’s shoulder and continued to cry softly. The older woman held Emma around her naked shoulders and smoothed her hair away from her face.

“I’m so sorry that I upset you. That was never my intention, Emma. Shhh, shhh, please speak to me.”

Emma’s sobs had reduced to sniffles but tears were still falling from her eyes.

“You didn’t upset me, Regina.”

Regina continued to sooth the young woman in her arms but now looked at her with a confused expression.

“Then why are you crying?”

“To be honest I feel a little overwhelmed. Nobody has ever cared for me enough to want to include me in their family. Everything I have ever wanted in my life is finally happening and it’s hard for me to wrap my head around it all. It doesn’t feel real, like at any moment it’s going to be taken away from me.”

“So you haven’t changed your mind about us? You don’t want to end this?”

Emma lifted her head from where it had been resting and frowned at Regina.

“What? No! No, I don’t want to end this at all. My emotions just got the better of me. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise to me, Emma. I understand. Just tell me what you want, don’t feel pressurised.”

Emma stroked the soft skin of Regina’s cheek and gave a small smile.

“I want you. I want Henry. I want us to be a family too, Regina, and if you still want it, I want to move in here.”

Regina covered Emma’s hand which was still caressing her face and moved it slightly, allowing her to press a kiss against her palm.

“I love you, Emma Swan. I can’t even begin to tell you how wanted and needed you are. We can be happy, Emma. We deserve to be happy. Come, let’s go back to bed.”

The two women stood and slowly walked back into the bedroom hand in hand. Emma laid herself back down under the sheets and after Regina removed her gown, she joined her partner. They both shifted towards each other and Emma pushed her leg in-between Regina’s thighs.

“I’m sorry that I ruined our date.”

“Nonsense. Tonight was more than I could ever have wished for. Thank you.”

“So, do you think you have enough room in your closet for my leather jackets?”

Regina snorted a little and kissed Emma’s forehead.

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

 

Over the coming months Emma took Regina out on many more dates, each one different from the last. They had taken a rowing boat out on the lake late one summer evening and Emma had somehow managed to drop the oars into the water. Regina refused to magic up any more, claiming that she liked to see Emma using her muscles as she used her hands to paddle back to dry land. Another time had seen the pair sat in the back row of the movies, making out like a couple of teenagers and touching each other up under their coats which were being used as make shift blankets.

One month after Regina had originally asked, Emma moved herself into the mansion. It wasn’t exactly hard work seeing as Emma owed so few possessions. Her mother had cried when she walked out with the last of her boxes. Emma had just smiled at her and rolled her eyes playfully as David comforted his wife.

Emma had told Regina that it was tradition to christen every room of a new house. Regina had informed her that it wasn’t a new house for her, but Emma’s only response was to lift her girlfriend up onto the kitchen worktop, lift up her skirt and proceed to make her come using her tongue. Regina didn’t question this tradition again after that.

They had their fair share of arguments too, but nothing too serious. One evening at dinner, Emma had poured tons of salt and pepper on her dinner which Regina had made for her before even taking a bite to see if it needed any extra seasoning. Regina had refused to let Emma touch her for two whole days. Emma never picked up the salt and pepper pots again after that. They did have a particularly heated argument once where Emma had left her cell phone at work and was then called out to an emergency which kept her out for a few hours after her scheduled finish time. Regina had been out of her mind worrying about what could have happened to her. When Emma had walked back into the house late that evening, Regina had been sat on the stairs waiting for her. After ten minutes or so of angry shouting back and forth, the two women ended up having incredible make up sex on the staircase.

Things were quiet in Storybrooke which pleased everyone. Mary Margaret and David had finally gotten used to not having Emma still living with them and invited them over for dinner at least once a week. Henry was doing well in school as per usual. Emma and Regina were always thankful that their son actually enjoyed learning, so they never had any worries in that department. Henry loved the fact that he finally had his perfect family together under one roof and would often say as much to his parents.

It was quickly approaching the one year anniversary of their first date together and Emma wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. Henry was sleeping over at his grandparent’s leaving his two mothers to have the night to themselves.

“Where are we going tonight?”

“You will see when you get there. You know I won’t tell you, so I don’t know why you even ask.”

Regina pursed her lips together and frowned.

“I hate surprises.”

“You absolute liar. You love it when I surprise you. Anyway get changed into something really sexy then meet me downstairs in an hour. I have my stuff in the guest bedroom so I will get ready in there.”

Before Regina could ask any more questions, Emma had left her alone in their bedroom. She started to look through her closet, trying to find the perfect outfit. She pulled out a black velvet dress which was completely backless. She knew Emma loved it when her back was on show so it seemed perfect. She laid the dress out on the bed and then showered, making sure to use the coconut conditioner that Emma liked. Finally with her make up done and her hair styled up in a quiff and ponytail design, another of Emma’s favourites, she pulled on her dress, sprayed a little of her extremely expensive perfume on her body and made her way downstairs. Emma was stood in Regina’s study, casually looking out of the window when Regina made her entrance. Emma was wearing a very feminine, tight fitted pant suit with killer heels, her hair siting around her shoulders in loose curls.

When she turned to look at Regina, she let out an audible gasp. It still surprised her just how much this perfect woman took her breath away.

“Wow. You look stunning, baby.”

“Thank you, as do you, and what have I told you about calling me that?!”

“Oh please, you totally love it.”

“That’s debateable.”

Emma walked across the room and pulled Regina in for a brief hug before taking her hand.

“Ready?”

“Yes, lets go, _baby.”_

“Oh god, you can call me that all night! It does things to me.”

Regina smirked and playfully smacked Emma’s arm.

Emma was allowed to drive Regina’s car to their destination, mostly because Regina hated getting into the ancient excuse of a car which was Emma’s yellow bug. The car journey was over within five minutes as Emma parked up outside the library. Regina had a feeling she knew what was coming next. The two women once again made their way into the empty building and up the narrow staircase. When the door was opened Regina was greeted with a familiar sight. It looked like an exact replica of their first date, a year ago to the day. Emma led Regina over to the table and pulled her seat out for her. They ate their dinner, which had been in the large cooler box as before and after finishing their dessert, the sounds of Billie holiday once again filled the air. Emma stood beside Regina and held her hand out to the older woman.

“Dance with me?”

“Of course.”

The pair held each other and danced slowly around the small space, stealing kisses every so often. A few songs in, Regina pointed to the pile of quilts on the floor.

“Shall we star gaze again?”

Emma just smiled at her girlfriend and went to sit down on the quilts. Emma remained sitting upright, with her back leant up against a wall and her legs spread apart. She assisted Regina down and made her sit in between her legs. Before Regina was able to lay herself back, Emma took full advantage of having Regina’s back bared before her. She started kissing every inch of skin which was on display in front of her. When she finally managed to pull her lips away, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist and pulled her back against her chest. Emma sighed happily and placed one last kiss against Regina’s temple. Regina could feel Emma’s hands shaking slightly as they rested against her stomach.

“Are you cold, dear? You’re shaking.”

“No, I’m not cold.”

“Is everything ok? You have gone very quiet.”

“Yeah, look, Regina, this past year has been amazing. You have made me so very happy. I truly don’t feel worthy of your love.”

Regina squeezed Emma’s hands a little more tightly.

“Emma you’re worrying me.”

Emma rested her forehead against Regina’s shoulder blade as she continued.

“I’m not doing a very good job here, sorry. Ok look, I have never felt so certain about something in my life in the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Emma removed one of her hands from Regina’s stomach, pulled out a small box from her trouser pocket and held it out in front of them both. Regina looked at the box and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Regina Mills, I am so in love with you that it hurts. You’re an attentive and passionate lover, a loving partner and a caring mother, everything that I could have ever wished for. Will you make my one last dream come true and agree to be my wife?”

Emma now opened the box to reveal a silver ring that crossed in the middle and held a delicate diamond in between the two ends. Regina couldn’t help but trace her finger over the glittering diamond before Emma removed it from its velvet cushion and put the box on the floor. The nervous blonde placed the gentlest of kisses to the back of Regina’s neck as she waited for the other woman’s answer.

“Emma…I would love nothing more than to be your wife. You complete me in every way and I can’t wait to marry you.”

“Yeah?”

Regina chuckled softly at Emma’s response.

“Yeah.”

Emma slid the ring onto Regina’s finger and turned the mayor’s head so that she could kiss her fervently.

“I fucking love you, Regina Mills.”

“And I love you, Emma Swan, but watch that mouth.”

Regina smirked as she turned in Emma’s arms and wrapped her arms around her fiancé’s neck. There were tears slowly creeping out of her eyes and Emma wasted no time in wiping them from Regina’s cheeks. The sight made Emma’s own tears start to flow and before long both women were crying and laughing together, exchanging kisses in between.

“I can’t wait to see you in a wedding dress. Can we get married right now?”

“I’m afraid not. We need plenty of time to organise this wedding. I want it to be perfect.”

“As long as you are there, it will be perfect.”

“Hmm, that’s cute. But no I’m serious.”

“I’m sure my mom will love to help organise everything with you.”

“Absolutely not! Your mother can help with some things that involve you so, such as your dress but other than that I want us to do this together. Me and you. It will mean a lot to me, Emma.”

“I know, beautiful. We will do it together. Now if I remember correctly there are a few more things we need to do in order to recreate our first date accurately. So why don’t you send us home?”

“With pleasure.”

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

It had been two months since Emma had proposed to Regina and the wedding planning was well underway. They had had an engagement party at the mansion which most of the town seemed to attend. Regina had presented Emma with her own engagement ring that evening in bed. It was of a similar design to Regina’s own ring, but the diamond was much smaller as she knew Emma wasn’t one for wearing extravagant jewellery.

Mary Margaret would show up with a new wedding magazine every time she saw Emma. She tried to tell her mother that most of the planning was going to be done between her and Regina but Mary Margaret would just nod and then show her a picture of a cake or dress in one of the magazines. They had planned to have the wedding in early September when the weather should still be nice enough to hold the ceremony outside in their garden. That gave them exactly one month to finish preparations. Regina had gone dress shopping with Kathryn, much to Mary Margaret’s dismay, and ended up buying the second dress she tried on, stating that it was absolutely perfect. It took Emma a little longer to pick her dress. A week and around forty dresses longer to be precise. It didn’t help that her mother would just say that she loved every dress that her daughter tried on.

After a few months of stressful planning, the eve of the wedding finally arrived. Regina had insisted that they stick with tradition and not see each other until the wedding, much to Emma’s dislike. She would spend the night at her parent’s apartment and get ready there in the morning, while Regina would remain in the mansion with Henry and then have Kathryn round to help the next day. It was close to midnight and Regina had just gotten into bed when her phone vibrated beside her.

**Emma: Hey beautiful, you still awake? x**

**Regina: Yes, just got into bed. Can’t sleep? X**

**E: Only just got into bed myself, but I’m sure I won’t sleep much without you by my side. X**

**R: Indeed. I expect we will both have a restless night. Are you nervous? X**

**E: Truthfully? I’m bricking it. I have convinced myself that I will end up doing something really stupid that will ruin the day. You? X**

**R: As long as you turn up, nothing will ruin the day. Yes, I’m extremely nervous. X**

**E: Aww really? That’s so cute! I can’t believe that we are actually getting married tomorrow. This is crazy! X**

**R: I hope you mean crazy in a good way. Anyway it’s almost midnight, so no more contact until the wedding. X**

**E: Of course I mean in a good way. Ok little miss traditional, I will say goodnight then. X**

**R: Goodnight, Emma x**

**E: Regina?**

**R: Yes, dear?**

**E: I love you. Sweet dreams xxx**

**R: I love you too, darling. Xxx**

As predicted both women had a restless night’s sleep. Regina got up early and started breakfast for herself and Henry. She didn’t want to eat but she felt sick with nerves so decided that a light breakfast of porridge and fruit might help to settle her stomach. She called for Henry who eventually ran down the stairs excitedly and tucked into his breakfast heartily.

Across town Emma was up and showering whilst her mother prepared breakfast for them all. Dressed in a clean pair of pyjama bottoms and a tank top, Emma ate her body weight in bacon, eggs and toast but quickly regretted it when she put her hand on her stomach and stroked across the taught skin.

“Oh god why did I eat so much? This food baby better go before I put my dress on. It’s tight enough as it is!”

“It’s ok, sweetie, you have three hours until you need to put your dress on.”

“Thank god. I feel like I need to lie down.”

“Nope, no time for that. We need to get started on your hair and make-up.”

“I thought you said we have three hours?”

“We do, but hair and make-up is a process. It will take a few stages to perfect.”

“ok, I will take your word for it.”

 

Regina was unwilling to trust natural abilities to do her own hair and make-up, so she resorted to magic to ensure that it was perfect. She had her hair tucked up neatly at the back and gave herself a sweeping fringe. Her make-up was more elaborate than her everyday wear, but not quite as harsh as her evil queen days. Kathryn had helped her into her dress which was simple but elegant, clinging to her body in all the right places.

Mary Margaret had finally finished spraying the final layer of hairspray to Emma’s head after having styled it with a braid on one side which tucked in at the back of her head. The rest of her hair was curled and bundled together and sat over her left shoulder. Emma had insisted that she keep her make-up simple. The last thing to do was put on her dress, which actually turned out to be similar to Regina’s even though they had never seen or discussed each other’s dresses.

David drove his family to the mansion where they all made their way into the back garden which was already full of people. Emma took her place in-front of the white wooden archway which had been made along with a small platform for the minister to stand upon. She turned around and caught the eyes of some of her friends who smiled back at her. Mary Margaret and David stood on either side of their daughter as they waited for the ceremony to start.

Regina checked her reflection in the mirror for the tenth time and then reached down to straighten Henry’s tie for him. It was finally time to start the wedding and the pair stepped out into the garden. Soft classical music could be heard in the background and Regina linked her arm with her son’s. Before they started walking, Regina caught sight of Emma who had turned her head so that she could watch her walk down the aisle. Their eyes met and they smiled shyly at each other. Regina wasn’t ready to cry just yet so she had to look away before it was too late. Mother and son walked slowly down the aisle sharing smiles with some of the guests as they headed towards the archway. Henry sat down next to his grandparents, leaving both of his mothers standing together.

Both women listened to the minister talk, well half listened as they kept glancing at each other. Then the time finally came for their vows, which they had chosen to write themselves. The pair turned and finally faced each other, holding onto each other’s hands.

“Emma, I started life innocently enough, a light and caring soul. Unfortunately as fate would have it, the darkness consumed me for many years. I was lost and feared that I would never come back from that place. Then you came into my life and changed everything. Granted at first things were a little tense between us, but you challenged me in every way imaginable. It excited me, I finally felt alive again. You actually seemed to see the real me. You weren’t scared of me, you would argue back and you cared about my well-being. You stirred up feelings which I had buried long ago. I have finally come around full circle as I feel the lightness in my soul once again, thanks to you. You are the one who brought the light and love back into my life and for that I owe you everything. We share a special bond, Emma, and I promise to stand by you no matter what life throws at us, through sickness and health, through the good times and the bad, I will be by your side through it all. You are so special to me, and to the people around you. I will love you until my dying breath, Emma Swan.”

 

Emma had started to cry about twenty words into Regina’s vows, and she was still crying now after Regina had finished. She quickly tried to compose herself, knowing that she now had to say her own vows. She swiftly wiped away her errant tears and cleared her throat before starting.

“Ok, I don’t think I can top that, but here goes. I went through life feeling unloved and unwanted, not truly belonging anywhere. I now know that it was in fact fate which gave me my troubled past, and it was this same fate which brought me to you. The connection we share is extraordinary and I never want to lose that. For the first time in my life I feel loved and actually wanted and that’s awesome. I know that I’m not always an easy person to be around. I’m clumsy, sometimes thoughtless and at times act like a complete idiot, but rest assured I have a heart brimming with love for you and I promise to do right by you. I will never hurt you, Regina. I will love and protect both you and our son until the end of time.”

 

Now it was Regina who was wiping away her own tears. Henry handed over the rings which his two mothers took in turns to put on each other’s fingers. The pair exchanged their I do’s, the minister announced them to be married and finally gave the go ahead for them to kiss. They shared several soft and quick kisses whilst everyone cheered and clapped.

A large white marquee had been erected in the grounds of the mansion and was full of tables and chairs which donned beautiful purple decorations and flowers. The guests took their allocated seats and Mary Margaret, David and Henry joined Emma and Regina at the head table. Everyone enjoyed a gorgeous traditional three course meal before it was time for the speeches. This task fell on David and Henry. David stood from his seat and tapped the side of his wine glass with a knife to get the guest’s attention.

“As I stand before you all today, I do so not as a prince or as a leader or a hero. I do so as a proud father. Emma, despite all of the challenges you have faced in life, you have emerged as a strong willed, loving and kind hearted human being. All I have ever wanted is for you to be happy, like your mother and I, and I can truly see that you are. You finally found your parents, and you finally found your family in Regina and Henry. Regina, I have no doubt that you will take care of my little girl. I see the way you look at her, and it’s the same way that I look at my wife, so I know that it’s true love. Can everyone please raise their glasses and join me in wishing these two beautiful women all the happiness in the world. To Emma and Regina.”

All of the guests raised their glasses and echoed the final part of the toast together. After everyone took a sip from the glasses, David took his seat and looked over at his grandson.

“Your turn buddy.”

Henry stood from his own seat and even though he already had the guest’s attention, he still tapped his fork against his glass which resulted in a few quiet chuckles from around the marquee.

“I don’t have as much to say as my grandpa, but all I really want to say is that I am so happy that my moms are finally together. I knew that they loved each other even before they did. I have never seen my mom as happy as she is when she is around Emma, well ma. Guys, just remember to check if I’m around before you start being all gross with each other, ok? I want to keep my innocent eyes. Anyway, I love you, moms and I know we are going to be a happy family forever.”

Everyone cheered and drank from the glasses once more. The happy couple along with Mary Margaret were trying and failing to hold back the tears after Henry’s speech.

After Emma and Regina had stood together and cut their beautiful five tiered wedding cake using Emma’s father’s sword, it was time for the evening entertainment, which consisted of a disco and dancefloor all set up at one end of the marquee. But before all of the guests could dance the night away, Emma and Regina took to the dancefloor and enjoyed their first dance together as wife and wife. They had chosen to dance to Billy Holiday, just like they had on their first date and their one year anniversary. They moved together in time to the music, cheek to cheek.

“So, when can we get out of here? I need to see what’s under that dress of yours.”

“Well seeing as we are basically already at home, we will have to stay to the end, dear. But rest assured that what is under this dress isn’t going anywhere.”

Emma growled quietly in Regina’s ear in frustration.

“Can’t you just speed up time or something?”

“Stop trying to cut short our wedding day. I want to enjoy and remember every aspect of the day, even if that includes watching drunken dwarves doing the YMCA.”

“Fine, I have just had enough of having so much attention put on me. You know it makes me feel uneasy.”

“Trust me, as soon as we finish this dance and the rest of the rabble take over, we will soon be forgotten about.”

“Ok, a compromise then. Can we at least sneak into the house for five minutes? I seriously need to kiss you, and I don’t mean just a quick peck on the lips.”

Regina sighed but finally gave in to her wife’s request.

“Five minutes only. If you try to extend it or even take things further than a kiss then you will be spending our wedding night in the guest room, alone.”

“Yeah, yeah deal. Lets go!”

Regina couldn’t help but smile at Emma’s enthusiasm as she led her out of the marquee and towards the house. They had been stopped several times on the way by well wishers, much to Emma’s annoyance. They eventually entered the mansion and Emma pulled Regina into her dark study and closed the door behind them. Emma sat herself down onto the sofa and carefully pulled Regina down to sit across her lap.

“Four minutes left, Miss Swan.”

“Excuse me, that’s Mrs Swan Mills to you.”

Conscious of the time limit and knowing full well that Regina will actually stick to it by the nearest second, Emma cupped the other woman’s face on either side and pulled her down for an erotically passionate kiss. Their tongues danced together in the warm expanse of their mouths which had both women moaning softly. As they continued their hot and wet open mouthed kisses, one of Regina’s hands made its way down Emma’s body and was now firmly cupping one of her breasts, whilst her other hand had found its way under Emma’s dress and was squeezing the warm skin of a pale thigh. The pair pulled away from each other quickly as they heard voices nearby in the mansion calling out their names. Emma looked at Regina with a ridiculously smug look on her face.

“So, does this mean that _you_ will be the one sleeping in the guest bedroom alone tonight?”

Regina slapped at Emma’s arm half-heartedly but added an eye roll for effect.

“Oh do shut up, Emma.”

Emma laughed heartily and playfully smacked Regina on the ass before they made their way back to the reception outside.

It was another two hours before the night started to wind down and the wedding guests began to leave at a steady pace, although some people needed some extra prompting from David to call it a night, namely Ruby and Leroy. Henry went home with his grandparents and was staying with them during the following week whilst his parents went on their honeymoon.

Regina found Emma in the kitchen just as she was tipping out some pills from a bottle of advil. She quickly knocked them back and took a swig from a bottle of water.

“Headache?”

“Yep, this day has really taken it out of me.”

Regina was stood right before Emma now and she started to rub up and down the length of the blonde’s arm.

“Emma, I would totally understand if you just wanted to go to bed and sleep. It has been a very long day and you look exhausted.”

Emma raised one eyebrow and scoffed at her wife’s suggestion.

“Um, hell no! There is no way that I’m not getting to see, touch and taste what is under that dress.”

Regina took one of Emma’s hands in her own and started to head out of the kitchen. Once they reached the bottom of the staircase, Emma stopped in her tracks and held on tightly to Regina’s hand, stopping her steps also. Regina turned around with a questioning look but before she even had a chance to speak, Emma had tucked an arm under Regina’s thighs, wrapped another arm around her waist and then scooped her up into her arms resulting in an excited squeal coming from the older woman. Regina flung her arms around Emma’s neck and was clinging on tightly. She tucked her head in close against Emma’s chest and listened to her heartbeat as she was escorted up the stairs and into their bedroom. Once inside, Emma gently lowered Regina onto her feet but she kept her arms around the saviour’s neck. Emma held on to either side of Regina’s hips and moved her head forward until their foreheads were resting against each other. Emma sighed contentedly and looked into the loving eyes of the woman before her.

“Hello, Mrs Swan Mills.”

Regina loved her new name and she felt the fine hairs at the back of her neck stand on end as she heard it fall from her lover’s mouth.

“Mmm, and hello to you too, Mrs Swan Mills.”

“I love my new name, but will you still call me Miss Swan every now and again? For sentimental reasons of course.”

“Oh yes, of course. Sentimental reasons. I’m sure it will slip off my tongue every so often.”

“Good, now turn around so I can slowly peel this dress off your amazing body.”

Regina turned as instructed and shuddered as Emma’s lips pressed against the back of her neck and began a slow trail of kisses around to her ear lobe which then was being gently nibbled on. Emma pulled her mouth away and started the task of releasing Regina from her dress. After Emma pulled open some fastenings on the back of the dress, Regina was able to pull her arms free from the long sleeves. As soon as she did this, the dress naturally fell some more before stopping at her hips. With her back on full display she knew that it wouldn’t be long before she would feel Emma’s hands all over it. She had noticed that Emma became a little bit wild when it came to backs, which suited Regina just fine. Sure enough not even a second later, Emma’s hands were all over the exposed skin of her back. Emma used her nails to scratch from Regina’s neck and down to bottom of her spine, following the tracks with her tongue to sooth the reddening marks. A moment later Regina felt her bra being removed and then saw it fly across the room in a blur of black and lace. The combination of cool air and her arousal making her nipples harden as they were exposed. Emma tucked her arms under Regina’s own and brought her hands up until she had a firm grip on both of Regina’s breasts. She gently pinched each stiff nipple as she bit down on Regina’s shoulder.

Regina let out a guttural moan and reached her hand around so that she could grab hold of Emma’s hair and tug slightly, encouraging the other woman to continue her assault using her teeth. Emma quickly took the hint and bit down harder before starting to suck where her teeth had just been, her aim to leave a lasting mark. Once Emma moved her mouth away, Regina took the opportunity to completely remove her dress and lay it over the back of a chair nearby. Emma stood and watched her lover with hungry eyes as she turned and placed her hands on her hips, now only dressed in her panties and stockings and suspenders. Regina made a show of looking up and down Emma’s body where she stood.

“Now I’m going to sit down on the bed, and you are going to remove your dress, very slowly.”

The deep richness of Regina’s voice had a pool of arousal form in Emma’s underwear. She watched as Regina took the few small steps over to their bed and sat down on the edge, crossing her legs then leaning back slightly on her hands. Emma remained motionless for a moment as she stared at the sight before her.

“I’m ready when you are, Miss Swan.”

That seemed to knock Emma out of her lust filled daze as she started the process of removing her dress, effectively performing a strip tease for her wife. The two women maintained eye contact throughout, sharing looks of lust, but also of pure love and adoration. When Emma was finally stripped bare of the confines of her dress, Regina beckoned her over by pointing out an index finger and curling it towards herself several times. Emma shuffled a few steps closer to Regina before stopping and began to bite at her bottom lip nervously. Regina could see the change in Emma’s demeanour instantly and sat herself in an upright position whilst sporting a deep frown.

“Emma, what is it? What’s the matter?”

Emma’s eyes had now left Regina’s and she was clearly trying to look anywhere but where her wife sat. She started to scratch at her arm in another nervous gesture before answering.

“I don’t know. All of a sudden I just feel stupidly embarrassed. I feel like what I’m doing isn’t enough for you, you know? I mean looking at you sat there like some absolute fucking goddess and then here I am stood here fumbling to get my dress off, trying and failing to act sexy for you whilst trying not to fall over.”

Regina couldn’t help but smile slightly as she reached out her hand for Emma to take and pulled her flush up against herself and the bed. Regina then wrapped her arms around Emma’s body and rested her head against her stomach. Emma had brought her hands up and laid them gently upon Regina’s shoulders. After a moment Regina pulled her head back slightly and placed several open mouthed kisses to Emma’s abdomen.

“Emma, yes you are the clumsiest person I know and are often breaking things or falling over yourself or saying and doing inappropriate things.”

“Gee thanks.”

“BUT, I find it absolutely adorable. I love it when you make a mistake and then look at me with your wide puppy dog eyes. It practically makes my heart melt. However, make no mistake when I say that all of these things do not take away from the fact that you are the sexiest thing I have ever laid my eyes on across all the realms. Just looking at you makes my heart flutter and the mere touch of your hand upon my skin has me dripping wet with desire.”

And as if to prove her last point, Regina took one of Emma’s hands and brought it down in between her legs, pulling her underwear aside and allowing the blonde to feel just how aroused Regina was at that moment.

“Can you feel that, Emma? You did that to me. Nobody else, you. Now, if you don’t get down on your knees and taste your queen, I might be forced to punish you, Miss Swan.”

“Fuck.”

Apparently the profanity was all that Emma could muster up at that point, her mind being clouded by visions of Regina punishing her. Even though it was an empty threat, designed to help re boost Emma’s mood, it still turned her on no end.

In one swift movement Emma was on her knees in between Regina’s legs as requested. Regina bowed her head down to claim a chaste kiss before laying herself down on the bed and shuffling her body closer to the edge. Emma tucked her arms under each of Regina’s thighs and gently encouraged the woman’s legs to part even more.

Emma’s eyes darkened to a shade of avocado green as she looked upon Regina’s soaked sex. Emma leant in and after pressing a tiny kiss to the tidy patch of wet curls extended her tongue and lapped up as much of Regina’s arousal as she could with one full swiping action. Regina moaned loudly when she felt the saviour’s warm tongue against her wet centre, encouraging Emma to repeat the action several times before paying attention to the little pulsating bud. Emma flicked and sucked at Regina’s clit as she inserted two fingers deep inside.

“Oh gods! Mmmm.”

The sounds of Regina’s moans during sex had always spurred Emma on even more and so now she began to pump her fingers in and out of Regina at a startling rate, continuing to pay attention to her throbbing clit with her tongue. Regina had her hands buried deep in Emma’s hair and pushed the blonde’s head down against her harder at the same time as pushing up with her hips. Emma knew that Regina was close as she began to arch her back off the bed and her moans had practically become growls of animalistic pleasure.

“Emma! Yes, oh god…Up here, I need you…”

“No, later. Right now I want you to come in my mouth, my queen.”

And with those last spoken words, Regina crashed full force into one of the most intense orgasms of her life. Warm come began trickling out of her opening which was swiftly lapped up by her hungry wife. Her body’s movements began to slow as she came down from her sexual high, being helped along by the slowed movements of Emma’s fingers still inside her and the occasional light brush with the tip of a tongue. Emma remained on her knees and rested her head against Regina’s thigh.

“I’m sorry, Regina.”

The older woman sat herself up and looked down at Emma.

“Sorry for what? Giving me the most earth shattering orgasm of my life?”

Emma managed a tiny half-hearted smile before continuing.

“For ruining your wedding night with my stupid insecurities. I’m so sorry.”

“Firstly, it’s _our_ wedding night, secondly you didn’t ruin anything and thirdly never call your insecurities stupid. Everyone has them, Emma, and they are what make us who we are. We learn by them and become better people because of them.”

“Why do you always know the right thing to say to me?”

“Because I know you, Emma, and I am your wife, it’s my job to make you feel better.”

Emma smiled against Regina’s thigh before standing and stretching out her aching legs. As she did this Regina took off her panties along with her stockings and suspenders and laid herself down at the top of the bed. Emma removed her own underwear before joining Regina on the bed. Once Emma was lying on her back, Regina rolled over and straddled the blonde’s hips. The two women intertwined their fingers and Regina brought their hands up to sit on the bed just above Emma’s head. Regina leaned down and crashed her mouth against Emma’s and then ran her tongue under the inside of her top lip. Emma returned the action in Regina’s mouth before the older woman pulled her head back up but let her body linger over Emma’s face. The blonde lifted her head and took one of Regina’s nipples in her mouth and sucked hard making the woman atop of her grind herself down against Emma’s mound. The feeling of their sex’s rubbing together drove the younger woman crazy and as she moaned appreciatively she pushed herself up and grinded even harder against Regina, feeling the wetness that was pouring from them both spread over their swollen folds. Regina could tell from Emma’s moans that she was close to climaxing so she released one of Emma’s hands and brought it down in between their bodies and quickly inserted two fingers into Emma, wanting to feel her come against her fingers. The pair were still grinding towards each other as Regina furiously thrusted inside of Emma.

“Damn, Regina, you feel so good inside me… I… mmmm, Kiss me.”

As soon as their lips met Emma came hard, her moans being silenced against Regina’s mouth. Their lips stayed together as Emma’s body recovered from her orgasm. Regina slowly withdrew her fingers and then sucked off the juices with a wink in Emma’s direction.

Emma immediately placed her hand in between Regina’s legs but her actions were stopped before she could really get anywhere.

“We have a relatively early start tomorrow, so I really think we should try and get some sleep now, don’t you?”

“We haven’t even been married twenty four hours and you are already blowing me off.”

Regina laughed and took Emma’s sulking face in her hands.

“We are going to have a whole week all to ourselves on a beautiful island where we will have all the time in the world to make love, but right now, we both need some well-earned rest.”

Emma nodded in agreement and tucked herself up close against Regina’s back. She draped her arm around Regina’s waist and kissed the other woman’s shoulder.

“Goodnight, my gorgeous wife.”

“Goodnight, my beautiful darling.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

 

The two newlyweds took their seats on the plane, in first class of course at Regina’s insistence. Emma took hold of Regina’s hand as the plane took off, knowing that her wife was nervous about the flight although she never admitted it out loud. Emma had already assumed that Regina would have some issues with flying seeing as she had never done it before and so was extra forgiving when Regina would snap at her every word. Emma did wonder why Regina would pick a destination that took over 22 hours to get to and included two changes, but she had been adamant that she wanted to go to the Maldives. Emma didn’t have much input when it came to the honeymoon, she was happy to just be with Regina.

They finally arrived and after claiming their luggage, stepped outside where a car was waiting for them complete with driver. The journey took around thirty minutes and when they stepped out of the car Emma saw that they were at some docks. She let Regina take the lead as she seemed to know exactly where she was going. They eventually stopped in-front of a modest looking speedboat and an elderly gentleman helped them both and their luggage on board. Emma was getting more and more confused as to their destination.

“Where are we going exactly?”

“You’ll see.”

The boat ride took almost an hour and Emma started to feel a little bit panicked as they seemed to completely leave behind all civilisation, but one look at Regina’s smile eased her mind. Eventually they approached a small island which had a gorgeous looking hut at the forefront. The boat pulled up as close as it could, the nose just touching the sand of the island’s beach and the driver removed their bags before helping them both off the boat. Regina handed the gentleman a bundle of cash, which by the look on his face was a very generous tip. The two women stood and watched the boat leave before turning and looking at their home for the next five days. Regina started to walk forward but stopped when she realised that Emma was still stood staring at the building.

“Emma? Are you ok?”

“Is this where we are staying?”

Regina began to worry that she had picked the wrong place for their honeymoon and swallowed hard before speaking.

“Yes, I hired this island for the two of us. There is nobody else here.”

“You hired a whole island just for us? Regina, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. This is just, wow.”

Regina’s shoulders relaxed and a huge smile appeared on her face when she realised that Emma’s reaction had been a positive one.

“Come on, let’s go in and explore.”

Emma picked up her bag and followed Regina into the hut. When she stepped inside, Emma stopped dead in her tracks and lowered her bag to the floor as she took in her surroundings. The whole hut, which was a misleading name as the place was huge, was pretty much all open planned allowing her to see the kitchen, dining area, lounge and bedroom from her spot. There seemed to only be one closed off area which Emma assumed was the bathroom. The décor was minimalistic, mostly clean whites and creams everywhere, but it was luxurious nonetheless.

They both unpacked their things and had a look around the island, finding a much smaller hut next door which housed a huge hot tub and steam room. Around to the side of the main building, there were two enormous hammocks and just in-front of the building’s door sat two wooden lounger type chairs that overlooked the crystal clear ocean.

Emma and Regina made love several times a day over the course of their honeymoon, in the hot tub, hammocks, in their ridiculously comfy bed, shower, on the beach and in the ocean. Emma had often felt as though she was dreaming as she took in her beautiful surroundings, including her wife.

The week came to an end all too quickly and they made their way back to reality and back to their son.

Henry was thrilled to see his mothers, as was Mary Margaret and David who had insisted on hearing every detail about their time away and wanted to look at all of the pictures that Emma had taken on her phone. Two hours later the Swan Mills family said their farewells and made their way back to their home.

The first couple of weeks after their return were calm and relaxed as both women settled back into their daily work and home routines.

Regina was startled awake by the sounds of someone clearly being sick. As she took in her surroundings she saw that she was alone in her bed and could see a strip of light coming from under their bathroom door, coming to the quick conclusion that it was Emma who was unwell. She quickly got out of bed and pulled a robe before entering the ensuite. Emma was on her knees with her head in the toilet continuing to be sick. Regina rushed over and gathered together Emma’s long hair with one hand and held it back away from her face. She used her other hand to rub soothing patterns up and down her wife’s back. A few minutes later it was clear that Emma’s stomach was now empty as she began to dry heave. When Emma had finally finished, she pulled her head out of the toilet bowl and sat down beside Regina. Her eyes were red and watery and despite the strain of being sick, Emma’s skin was deathly pale.

“Are you okay, sweetheart? Do you think you're finished?”

“Yeah. I think I’m done. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Regina continued to hold onto Emma’s hair and was now wiping away the wet streaks from her face.

“Don’t be sorry. How do you feel now?”

“Better. A little delicate and my head is pounding, but much better.”

“Good. Come now, let’s get you cleaned up and back into bed.”

Emma just nodded and held onto the side of the bath as she stood up on slightly shaky legs.

“I just want to brush my teeth and wash my face quickly. I will be there in a couple of minutes.”

Regina smiled softly and returned back to their bedroom, leaving Emma to freshen herself up.

Three days later, Emma was sat at her desk at the sheriff’s station completing some mindless paperwork when she had the overwhelming urge to throw up. She ran into the small bathroom and only just made it to the toilet in time.

When the same thing happened the next day as she was leaving for work, she knew something was wrong, and this time she didn’t refuse when Regina had suggested going to the doctor.

The two women were sat in the doctor’s office, impatiently waiting for him to return with the results of Emma’s blood test and urine sample.

“Okay, Emma, I have your results here.”

The doctor was looking at some different slips of paper as he re-entered his office and took a seat back behind his desk. After a few moments of silence as the doctor continued to look over the pieces of paper in his hands, Regina lost her patience.

“Well?!”

“Oh, sorry I was just double checking these results.”

The doctor was frowning as he spoke which in Emma’s mind didn’t seem too promising.

“What is it? What do my results say? Is it bad?”

“No, no not bad, Miss Swan.”

Regina bristled at the incorrect name.

“Mrs Swan Mills actually.”

“Of course, my apologies. Well it would appear, Mrs Swan Mills, that you are pregnant.

Emma actually laughed out loud.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

The doctor cleared his throat nervously as he looked at the two women before him.

“All of your other test results came back clear. The reason for your recent bouts of sickness is because you are pregnant.”

Emma stood from her chair and without another word swiftly left the doctor’s office, leaving Regina behind.

“How sure are you that the results are accurate?”

“With these results I can honestly say that there is no doubt that your wife is most definitely pregnant.”

“Thank you.”

Regina gave the doctor her famous professional smile before calmly leaving the sterile office.

Regina found Emma pacing up and down next to her Mercedes in the car park. She looked frantic.

“What the hell, Regina?! What is going on?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Emma stopped her pacing and stared open mouthed at Regina.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

Regina instantly looked apologetic.

“Nothing, Emma, I didn’t mea..”

“Do you think I did this behind your back?! Oh my god, you think I cheated on you!”

Regina quickly stepped forward and grabbed hold of Emma’s shoulders.

“No, Emma. I don’t think that at all. I’m sorry, my mind is all over the place. I didn’t know what I was saying. Forgive me.”

Emma’s angry expression changed to a softer one as she reached out and embraced her wife.

“I’m sorry too for snapping at you. We need to figure this out together. Ok, is this something that can happen with magic?”

“I honestly have no idea. I have never heard of it happening before, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible. I think we need to pay a visit to gold.”

 

“Ladies, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Regina was in no mood for pleasantries and so jumped straight in with her question as herself and Emma approached the counter in the small store.

“Is it possible to use magic to become pregnant?”

“Not wanting to go down the adoption route again then?”

It was Emma who answered this time.

“It’s a little too late to go down that route.”

Mr Gold gave a nod in understanding and allowed his trademark impish grin to show.

“Ah, I see. Well congratulations to you both.

Regina rolled her eyes at gold’s sarcastic tone.

“Well is it possible for this to happen with magic or not?”

“Well, where it is an extremely rare occurrence, it is in fact possible yes. It takes a very strong connection to make it happen though, and a desire for it.”

Regina turned to Emma and attempted a small smile.

“Well, it would appear that we have our answer. Let’s go home and discuss this further.”

Without even another look towards gold, both women make their way back out of the store, hand in hand.

“You’re welcome, dearies.”

 

The drive back to the mansion was a silent one, both women lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t until they were back inside their home that either of them spoke.

“This is crazy, Regina. I can’t actually believe that this is happening.”

Regina took the seat next to Emma on the sofa and rested her hand on top of the blondes.

“I know. It’s a lot to take in.”

“Are you not happy about it?”

Regina looked up quickly and into Emma’s eyes.

“What? Yes, yes of course I am, I’m just trying to get my head around it. It’s not something I would have imagined happening, but that being said I’m actually quite thrilled.”

Emma looked at her wife with nothing but pure love in her eyes.

“You are?”

“Of Course. For ten years I was alone and raising a child. There were so many times when I so desperately wanted to share that experience with someone and now I finally have the chance too, with both Henry and this one.”

Regina placed her hand upon Emma’s stomach and leaned forward to capture her wife’s lips in a passionate kiss.

 


	16. Chapter 16

 

MONTH 4

Everyone had been thrilled for the couple when they found out about the pregnancy, a little confused but thrilled none the less. Henry was always talking about his future little brother or sister and Mary Margaret had sobbed tears of happiness. Emma would still often get morning sickness which meant she had taken to doing the evening shifts at work. Regina had asked Emma to stop working but the blonde was having none of it, though she agreed to mainly stick to office work.

Emma sat behind her desk and had just thrown a screwed up paper basketball at the small bin a few feet away, when it missed and landed against a high heeled shoe.

“Busy I see?”

“Filing away paperwork. Did you bring the hummus?

Regina held up a large container in answer.

“Ooh, gimme gimme.”

Emma was reaching out for container with her outstretched arms, wiggling her fingers in a way that a toddler would when wanting to be picked up.

Regina just rolled her eyes and handed over the pot of hummus.

Emma took the lid off and threw it carelessly across her desk, resulting in it landing on a stack of papers and sticking to them as a piece of the dip had remained on the underside of the lid. Emma either didn’t notice or didn’t care as the next thing she did was open a desk drawer and pull out a spoon.

“Emma, there are crackers in there for you to have with that.”

Emma was already two spoonful’s in before answering.

“Nah, straight from the tub is fine.”

Regina looked on as her pregnant wife practically inhaled the remainder of the tub in front of her.

“Couldn’t you have picked a craving which was less, well pungent?”

“A, you like hummus, and B, you don’t pick cravings, they pick you. You should be thankful, there are much worse things I could be craving than a Greek dip.”

“Hmm, indeed.”

 

MONTH 6

Regina woke up tucked in tightly against Emma’s side. The blonde was snoring very lightly, something that had only started happening since becoming pregnant. Regina looked down at Emma’s stomach and smiled. The baby bump seemed to get bigger every time she looked at it. She raised her head up and away from Emma’s chest and shuffled down the bed so that she was more in-line with the baby. Emma’s tank top had ridden up through the night and was now gathered up under her breasts, leaving her belly bare. Regina began to stroke her fingers across the warm, stretched skin then brought her lips to it in a feather-light kiss.

“Good morning, my sleeping beauties.”

“You know it’s odd for you to call us that, right?”

Regina just responded with a small chuckle.

 

MONTH 8

It was early summer in Storybrooke and Regina was in the garage helping Henry pack his bag for the five day camping trip he was going on with his school.

“Do we have a head-torch mom?”

“Yes I think so Henry, check in the white box over there.”

Henry went and checked in the box and sure enough, there sat a head-torch on top of a pile of different sized flash lights. He pulled out the head-torch along with a huge flashlight.

“I think I have everything I need now thanks mom. I have to leave soon, where’s ma?”

“She was resting in our room. I expect she is still in there.”

Regina put away a few boxes which had been looked in before following her son back into the house. When she walked into their bedroom she saw Emma sat up on the bed hugging Henry with tears streaming down her face.

“Ma, it’s only for five days!”

Emma finally let her son go and chuckled as she wiped away her tears.

“Sorry kid, hormones.”

All three of them laughed now. Hormones were Emma’s excuse for everything since becoming pregnant.

A car horn sounded from outside, signalling the arrival of Henry’s ride. With one last peck on the cheek to each of his mothers and a wave of a hand over his shoulder, Henry was gone. Regina waved out of the window at him as the pickup truck pulled away.

Emma hauled herself off the bed and walked over to her wife, pressing up as closely behind her as was possible with their baby between them, and wrapped her arms around her slim waist. She nuzzled her nose into Regina’s hair until she was able to locate the other woman’s neck with her lips.

“Really, Emma? Again?”

“Mmm, it’s your own fault. You are just too damn irresistible.”

“Emma, it’s not even midday yet and we have already made love three times.”

“You smell so good.”

Regina couldn’t help the small moan which passed her lips as Emma whispered in her ear. This small moan was all the go ahead that Emma needed. Her hands moved up Regina’s body and cupped two soft breasts through her purple silk blouse, then a moment later Regina’s hands joined her own and squeezed gently. Emma released one of her hands and let it fall down to her wife’s thigh where she caressed for only a few mere seconds before cutting the teasing short and palmed her hand in-between Regina’s legs. The older woman was becoming more breathless and had to concentrate harder to form any words.

“Why can’t I ever say no to you?”

“Because you love me.”

Emma added more pressure which made Regina gasp and roll her head back against Emma’s chest, allowing more access to her neck which Emma took advantage of instantly. She trailed a line from her shoulder to her earlobe with her tongue before retracing the path back again with kisses and gentle nibbles.

“Talk dirty to me.”

Regina’s eyes popped open with hesitation. The intoxicatingly lustful moment having been broken slightly by Emma’s words.

“I beg your pardon?”

“No, please, Regina, stay with me here. I don’t mean anything gross, you know just talk to me. Tell me what you want me to do to you.”

Regina didn’t answer straight away. She was thinking about how insatiable Emma had become during the past few months of her pregnancy, Emma taking advantage of every moment they were alone to please her. She realised that she was in for a pretty lust filled week whilst Henry was away. Regina decided that she would tease her wife a little and build her arousal to breaking point. If she wanted Regina to talk dirty, then she would pull out all the stops. She knew exactly what would drive the blonde crazy.

Regina turned in Emma’s arms and smiled sweetly before biting down on her bottom lip innocently.

“Okay, go and sit down on the bed.”

Emma dutifully did as she was told and got herself comfortable on the bed.

Regina didn’t move from her spot as she raised her arms slightly and waved her hands across her body, enveloping herself in thick purple smoke. Once the residue magic had disappeared, Regina looked very different. She was wearing a full length dark purple dress which tightly corseted at the waist, with a high necked collar that sat framing the back of her neck and head. The dress was covered in beautiful lace and beading and had a plunging neckline which showed off her assets wonderfully. To go along with her new attire, Regina’s hair was now styled in a purposely messy up do and her make-up was extremely heavy. Long false eyelashes were accompanied by winged tipped eyeliner which made Regina’s eyes look almost black. Her lips were now painted a deep shade of red which made her already full lips appear wonderfully plump and worked in drawing attention to the small but deep scar which sat across her top lip.

“Holy shit.”

Emma now sat with her mouth wide open in an almost comical fashion. She nervously licked at her dry lips as she took in the sight stood before her.

“I seem to recall that you once requested to see me in something a little more, regal.”

“Regina, is that one of your actual outfits from the enchanted forest?”

“Yes, one of my favourites in-fact. Do you approve, Miss Swan?”

Regina slowly sauntered closer towards Emma who was nodding enthusiastically whilst staring back at her with wide eyes. When Regina reached the edge of the bed she beckoned Emma closer with her fingers. It only took a few mere seconds for Emma to be a few inches away from where Regina now stood. She was surprisingly agile for a heavily pregnant woman. Emma was now sitting close to the edge of the bed with her legs crossed in-front of her with her wife now towering over her. Regina slowly bent her body over at the waist until she was at Emma’s eye level. She looked down at Emma’s hands which were sat in her lap and shaking slightly.

“Why, you’re shaking. Now is that because I’m making you nervous or because I’m turning you on?”

Emma cleared her throat before answering.

“A little of both.”

“Ok. Well let’s see if I can’t make you feel a little more relaxed shall we, dear.”

Emma didn’t have a chance to respond before Regina placed a soft kiss against her cheek, followed by another and another until she reached her ear and stopped but didn’t move her lips away as she whispered seductively.

“I am going to touch and taste every inch of your body, starting with your neck and from there down to your gorgeous breasts where I want to feel your nipples harden against my tongue.”

Emma now had her eyes closed as she listened intently to Regina’s voice.

“I will continue down your body, trailing hot kisses across your succulent skin, pausing briefly to relay my love to our beautiful miracle growing inside you.”

Emma smiled at Regina’s words about their child, but quickly returned to her previous aroused state as Regina continued.

“My hands will move down to caress your strong thighs, followed closely by my tongue and lips which I will use to lick and kiss from your knees, up to the apex of your thighs. Next, I will make your muscles twitch when you feel my hot breath between your legs.”

Regina heard Emma gulp as she spoke, making her smirk before bringing her teasing speech to an end.

“Finally, I’m going to run my fingers through your wet folds which will be dripping with your juices as a result of my touches. I will lick from your opening to your clit, collecting your arousal in my mouth in doing so. Finally, Miss Swan,”

Regina paused, building a little more tension whilst waiting for Emma to ask her to continue.

“Yes?”

Emma just about managed to stutter out her response with a shuddered breath.

“I’m going to _fuck you_ with my tongue. I’m going to insert my tongue into your hot and waiting core, before replacing it with my fingers which I will use, along with my tongue on your clit, to make you come, long, and hard.”

“Jesus Christ Regina. I think I might explode the second you touch me after that.”

“We have all day.”

Regina took Emma’s face in her hands and kissed her passionately, both women moaning when their tongues slipped past lips and met. Regina pulled away and stood up to her full height, waving her hand towards Emma as she did so. When Emma looked down at herself, she saw that she was completely naked. She raised an eyebrow at Regina who was looking very smug with herself.

“No point wasting time with having to remove clothes by hand.”

Regina went to wave her hands around herself once more to remove her own clothes before Emma loudly protested.

“Stop! Don’t, you, dare. The clothes stay.”

“Very well. Lay down.”

Emma shuffled herself higher up onto the bed and laid herself down with a pillow behind her head. She watched as Regina grabbed hold of either side of her dress and lifted it slightly so she could climb onto the bed more easily. Regina moved up until she was able to lay down on her side next to Emma. Feeling her own arousal forming between her legs, Regina wasted no time in starting what she promised her wife only a few minutes ago. With one hand wrapped around Emma’s shoulders and her other sat on one warm thigh, Regina started to trail feather-light kisses on Emma’s neck which quickly turned into Regina sucking on the sensitive flesh with the aim to mark the area. When she was satisfied with her handy-work, Regina brought her hand up to hold onto one of Emma’s breasts, which had grown during her pregnancy, and brought her mouth down to the other one, taking care to be gentle as she licked at Emma’s extra sensitive and darkened nipple.

Emma thought to herself that she couldn’t remember a time when she felt so turned on and was moaning with pleasure at Regina’s every touch on her body. Regina started to move herself slowly down the bed. She used her fingertips to slowly draw a line down Emma’s side before putting her hand, open palmed on Emma’s stomach.

“Hello, my beautiful one. You are going to join a home that is so full of love and affection. We can’t wait to welcome you, little one.”

Regina placed a quick motherly kiss next to where her hand was resting before she gently pulled herself away from Emma’s body and stood up to stand at the bottom of the bed.

“Move down towards me.”

Emma moved herself down until her legs were hanging over the edge of the bed. Regina smiled down at her wife as she lazily made invisible patterns on her thighs using her finger tips. Once again Regina raised her dress up slightly as she knelt down on the soft carpet in-front of Emma. She gently pushed Emma’s legs open a little wider to gain better access to where she wanted to be. Emma let out a deep moan as Regina slid a finger through her wet folds, the result of her teasing clearly evident.

“R..Regina, I’m not going to last long.”

Regina took that as her cue to get straight down to business. She pressed her tongue down into Emma’s wetness, licking up and down several times before entering her. Regina moaned herself as she tasted the gloriously tangy flavour of her wife’s arousal. She could tell from Emma’s arching back that she was getting close, so she replaced her tongue with two of her fingers which she used to pump rapidly inside of Emma’s hot centre. Regina brought her mouth back down upon Emma, and as she started to suck firmly on her clit, the blonde came undone.

“God, Regina…..Regina.”

Emma continued to call out her wife’s name as her pleasure reached its peak. Regina’s movements slowed as Emma’s insides contracted against soaked fingers. Regina slowly pulled out of Emma and got to her feet, easing the ache which was just starting in her knees. Without a word Regina sat herself on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. Emma was now sitting up herself with a look of contentment on her face. Regina held her hand out for Emma to take and when she did, the older woman pulled her closer until she was laying beside her. Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde’s shoulders and Emma rested her head against Regina’s chest.

“That was the single most erotic experience of my life.”

Regina chuckled at Emma’s words as she ran her fingers through a messy blonde mane of hair. A minute or so later Regina heard the signature sound of Emma’s slowed breathing, indicating that she had fallen asleep. She bent her head down to place a kiss against Emma’s temple before closing her eyes herself.

“Sleep well, my precious love.”

Regina’s last thought as she fell asleep was that nothing could come between her and the happiness that she had found with her family.

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song featured is Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk"

 

But, something _was_ about to come between her family’s happiness. It was the day before Henry was due to return home from his camping trip that Emma got the call.

“Sherriff’s station.”

“Um, hello can I speak to Sheriff Swan please.”

“This is sheriff Swan. What can I do for you?”

“My name is Stephen Coggs, I’m um one of the teachers overseeing the camping trip.”

“What’s happened? Is it Henry?”

“Sheriff, I am so very sorry. There's been an accident.”

                                                 ----------------------------------

Henry had died instantly. He had been crushed by a large boulder which had come loose and crashed into their campsite whilst they slept. It seriously injured two other boys, but Henry had not been so lucky.

The very second that Emma was told the horrifying news, Regina had appeared next to her having physically feeling Emma’s pure heartbreak. She had sent them both straight to the campsite where they fell into each other in a crumpled heap of tears at the sight of their dear son.

The funeral was held a week later. Almost everybody from the town had attended to show their respect and shed their own tears at the loss of the charismatic young boy. Emma had sobbed loudly throughout and was being comforted by her parents. Regina had cried large wet tears but had been silent, refusing to look at or speak to anyone other than her wife all day. There had been a gathering at Granny’s after where the residents of Storybrooke reminisced and shared stories about their own memories of Henry. Emma and Regina couldn’t stand to hear anymore being said about their son and had left after twenty minutes, returning home together where they both curled up in each other’s arms and cried on Henry’s bed where they fell asleep until morning.

 

It had been just over a week since Henry’s funeral and life for the majority of the town’s people had returned back to normal. Emma had needed to get some fresh air after not leaving the mansion for the better part of a week, and so had decided to grab a few groceries from the store. She had picked up a few random items, not really concentrating on what she was buying. Several people had stopped to ask her how she was “holding up” but all she could muster was a small acknowledging nod of her head. When the fourth person approached her, she had dumped the small bundle of groceries on a shelf and quickly left the store.

Emma returned back home to the mansion and could instantly hear the sound of music playing from somewhere. She took her boots off in the foyer and noticed that when she opened the small closet to put them away, it was emptier than usual.

“Regina?”

Emma called out to her wife but when no answer came she headed in the direction of the music, which eventually led her into the study.

“Regina?”

Emma stood in the open doorway and called out to Regina who was standing by the window with what looked like a piece of baby clothing in her arms. Emma recognised the music which was playing on repeat on the stereo. It was a song which Regina had chosen to be played at their wedding and had insisted that they had danced to it.

Regina didn’t turn around to face Emma as she spoke, her voice heavy from the result of crying.

“When I first brought Henry home he wouldn’t settle. He would just cry and cry. I was at a loss as to what to do with him. This went on for a week or so until one day I stood right here and had this CD playing gently in the background. When this song came on, Henry stopped crying. I put it on repeat and the two of us sat in here for hours just looking at each other. Whenever Henry had a restless night after that, I would always play this for him and he would settle instantly.”

Regina was rocking back and forth very gently as she held what Emma could now see was one of Henry’s Baby grows close to her face.

Emma took a few more steps into the room just as Regina turned to face her. She could see tears running down Regina’s cheeks and she wanted nothing more than to take her wife in her arms and comfort her.

“I’m so sorry, Emma. I can’t do this.”

Emma’s stomach dropped. She knew what was coming. She briefly thought back to the emptier than usual closet in the foyer and it all became clear.

“Regina. Regina don’t, please.”

“I have to, I’m sorry.”

Both women were crying freely now where they stood.

“No, no don’t you do this to me, Regina. I can’t do this without you. I need you, we need you!”

Emma was pressing her hand firmly against her stomach making it clear who _we_ were.

“I love you Emma.”

Emma was about to retort that if she loved her then she wouldn’t be leaving her, but she never got the chance. Regina was gone, leaving behind a haze of purple smoke and the continuing sounds of the music coming from the speakers.

“Regina!!!”

Emma fell to her knees as she cried out for her wife. She stayed in the same position, crying endless tears as the song repeated over and over again. Emma knew that she would hear that song in her nightmares for years to come.

 

Emma woke up an hour or so later, still in the same position on the floor of the study. She felt a brief moment of confusion as she took in her surroundings, not understanding why she was on the floor before it hit her. Her son was dead and her wife had left her. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes as she slowly pulled herself up onto the couch. Emma quickly leaned over and ejected the CD from the stereo. The new silence made her ears ring. The blonde was about to leave the study when she spotted an envelope sat in the middle of the desk. She had a good idea of what she would find in the envelope and suddenly wished more than anything that she could have a strong drink. As she got closer she could see her name written in an elegant scrawl on the envelope. Emma decided that she had better be sitting down for what was coming next, so she took a seat in the leather chair sat behind the desk. Emma took several deep breaths before, with a shaken hand, pulled the folded paper from its confines and began to read.

 

_My Dearest Emma,_

_Let me first start by saying that apart from having to bury our beautiful son, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and please understand Emma that I DO have to do this. I was foolish to ever think that I was meant to have happiness in my life. It has been proven time and again that terrible things happen to the people I love. Losing Henry has broken me Emma and I should have done more to protect him. I won’t stand aside and allow you and our future child to be in danger any longer. I have to leave you both, my beautiful loves, to give you your best chance. I know that my actions will hurt you Emma but believe me when I say that I never wanted that to happen. I just want to protect you and our baby and this is the only way I know how._

_Now please listen. I know you too well Emma Swan Mills and I know that you will try and find me, but I need to ask you not to. You will be safe now that I am gone. I don’t ever want you to think that you have done anything wrong, this decision is mine and mine alone._

_I love you Emma, with every fibre of my being and I always will. I hope that one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me for what I have done to you. I know that you will be a wonderful mother to our child and shower them with enough love for the both of us._

_Goodbye Emma, my beautiful wife, and goodbye to my beautiful baby._

_I love you both so very much._

_Regina xx_

Emma sat and reread the letter over and over again. She couldn’t quite believe that Regina actually blamed herself for Henry’s death and saw herself as an indirect threat to their lives. Emma pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialled Regina’s number. She knew that her wife wouldn’t answer but she tried anyway. After several rings Emma heard Regina’s voice asking the caller to leave a message.

“Regina, baby look, I know that you blame yourself for what happened to Henry but deep down you must know that’s it’s not true. You are not a danger to us Regina, please, please come home to us. I love you.”

Emma ended the message and stood up from the desk. She slowly made her way up the stairs and into their bedroom where she looked straight in the closet. Most of Regina’s clothes were gone, just a few random pant suits and some shirts remained. Emma pulled one of the shirts from its hanger and held it tightly against her chest. She sat down on the edge of the bed and began to cry once again. Once her sobs had quieted down a little, she decided to call Regina again.

“Regina, please I’m begging you to come home. I can’t do this without you. I’m barely holding it together as it is after, after Henry. I can’t cope with losing you too. I need you here with me, with us! You are causing more pain and suffering by doing this Regina! Please!!!”

Emma dropped the phone and fell against the pillows whilst still clinging tightly to Regina’s shirt. After an hour or so Emma sat up with a new found determination. Despite Regina’s wishes, she couldn’t not try and look for her. She made her way back downstairs and put her boots on. She could hear the heavy downpour of rain outside so pulled on her thick sheriff’s jacket. She walked quickly to her car and got in. Her hair was already completely drenched from the short walk as she hadn’t bothered to use her coats hood. Emma started up the bug and pulled out of the driveway. The rain was coming down thick and fast, making it hard for Emma to see out of the window even with the wipers on at their fastest speed. She wasn’t hopeful in finding Regina, but she had to try. Her first thought was to look in the vault.

Just before she reached the outskirts of the woods, Emma saw something out of the corner of her eye. She took her eyes off the road for a moment to try and get a better look at what she had seen. When she turned back around she saw something in the middle of the road, inches away from the car. Emma’s instincts kicked in and she swerved the car to avoid hitting whatever was in the road, but due to the severely wet road she lost control of the steering.

\---------------------------------------

Emma could hear the faint sound voices, although muffled as though she was under water. Slowly but surely the voice became louder and clearer.

“Miss Swan?”

“Re..Regina?”

“No, my name is Tabitha, I’m one of the nurses here. Are you able to open your eyes for me Miss Swan?”

“Swan Mills.”

“I’m sorry my lovely, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Swan Mills! It’s my name! I’m married, I have a wife! I want to see my wife!!!”

“Ok Emma, calm down. Everything is going to be ok.”

“What happened? How did I get here?”

“A nurse found you unconscious in one of the corridors.”

Emma quickly thought back about the last thing she remembered. She was out driving, trying to find Regina then she saw something in the road. Then she had come off the road and that’s all she could remember.

“I was in the corridor?”

“Yes, Mrs Swan Mills. You were, but we don’t know how you got there.”

Emma knew. Regina.

“The baby? Is my baby ok?”

“Yes, your baby appears to be absolutely fine. And apart from you losing consciousness, so do you. You have some minor cuts and bruises but nothing else. Do you remember what happened?”

“I lost control of my car. There was something in the road.”

“Ok, well for now we need to keep you here for observation. We have been trying to contact your wife but we can’t get any response at the moment, but don’t worry, we will keep trying.”

Don’t bother, Emma thinks to herself. The nurse gives her arm a reassuring pat with her hand before leaving her alone in her room. Ten minutes or so later Emma could hear the voices of her parents approaching her room. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, being in no mood to talk. She felt guilty, but she just didn’t have the energy to face them right now. She laid as still as a statue as her mother held on to her hand and cried. Eventually after almost an hour, Emma actually did fall asleep.

When Emma next woke up, her room was dark and she was once again alone. Or so she thought. Her eyes eventually adjusted to the lack of light and she instantly spotted the outline of a figure sat in the furthest corner of the room.

“Regina?”

The figure stood quickly but made no further attempt to move.

“I needed to make sure that you were okay.”

“Considering everything, I’m pretty damn far from being ok.”

Regina walked over to the blonde’s bedside and gripped the safety rail tightly, turning her knuckles white.

“What the hell were you thinking? Driving so carelessly in this weather!”

“What was _I_ thinking?! Jesus Regina, what the hell were _you_ thinking?!”

“I’m doing what’s right, Emma. What has to be done.”

Regina made a tell-tale hand gesture, signifying she was about to perform magic, which Emma spotted and quickly reached out to hold onto Regina’s arm.

“Don’t you dare leave me again, Regina! You are my wife god damn it and we made a promise to always be there for one another, no matter what. I don’t remember promising to run away when things get tough.”

Regina looked down at her feet, unable to make eye contact as a wave of shame overcame her. Emma let go of her arm and instead gently took her hand and squeezed.

“Look, I know that you are doing what you feel is right but, Regina you listen to me right now, that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you leave me, you will be causing more damage than you can possibly know. Please don’t run from me, we are in this together, being there for each other no matter what life throws at us.”

“Emma, it’s not that simple.”

“Yes it is! I refuse to live a life where I don’t have you by my side, Regina. We have endured the hardest thing that any parent will ever go through and we need each other more than ever.”

Emma moved Regina’s hand to sit upon her stomach.

“You still have a family that needs you Regina. Please, please just come home. I don’t want to…ahh!!”

Emma’s body tensed as she hissed with pain. Regina took on an expression of pure panic as she looked down at her wife who was now clutching desperately at the crisp white bed sheets.

“Emma? What is it?! What’s wrong?!”

Regina could barely hear Emma’s response as she spoke through gritted teeth.

“The, the baby.”

The monitor which was attached to Emma’s stomach to check the baby’s heart rate began to sound loudly. The noise only adding to the panic which was threatening to overtake Regina at any moment, but before she had a chance the room became alive with activity as several nurses and a doctor rushed in. One nurse went straight to Emma and began to reel off reassuring words as the others checked the data that was being printed out from the machine which was still beeping loudly. The doctor wasted no time in raising the bed sheet along with Emma’s hospital gown in order to examine her.

“Well Emma it would appear that your accident has speeded things up significantly. Your baby is joining us sooner than we were expecting.”

The next five minutes passed in a blur of screams, encouraging words and tears. Regina remained at Emma’s side, wiping sweat ridden hair away from her wife’s face.

“Now Emma you are doing great. This next push should be the one. Take a deep breath and give it everything you’ve got!”

Emma did as instructed and was becoming severely light headed as she pushed down hard. A final scream of exertion escaped her lips before her head fell back onto the pillow. There was silence in the room for a few moments, with nobody speaking as they waited in anticipation for any sounds from the baby. Fortunately they didn’t have to wait long, as the shrill sound of a new born baby’s cry overtook the deafening silence.

Emma looked sleepily at Regina with a small smile on her face.

“Our baby, our baby is…”

Emma’s eyes closed shut and the last thing she heard was the faint panicked screams of Regina calling out her name.

 

\------------------------------------------

 

Emma woke slowly to what sounded to her like singing. She continued to lay still with her eyes closed and enjoyed the quiet lullaby as her mind found itself again. She opened her eyes, thankful for the dimmed light of the room and saw Regina sat in a high backed chair which was next to her bed. In her arms she cradled a tiny bundle, wrapped in white blankets. Regina hadn’t noticed that the blonde was awake and so continued to sing softly to the sleeping baby.

“I didn’t know you could sing.”

The sudden voice coming from the bed made Regina jump slightly, but she quickly stood and leaned over the bed to address her wife.

“Emma! Emma I have been so worried, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

“Tired, and sore. What happened?”

“Your blood pressure fell to a dangerously low rate. It took some time before they were able to bring it back up again. God you had me so worried, Emma.”

Emma looked at Regina apologetically before her eyes moved down and fell upon the small figure in her wife’s arms.

“Would you like to meet our daughter?”

Emma smiled brightly as Regina lowered the sleeping babe into her arms. She moved the blanket down slightly and away from the baby’s face so that she could take in the tiny features of her daughter better.

“Our daughter. Regina, she’s perfect.”

The mayor ran her fingers through Emma’s hair with one hand and with the other she stroked her thumb over the round cheek of their little girl.

“Yes. Yes she is perfect.”

 


	18. Chapter 18

 

EPILOUGUE

Four years later

 

“Emma? What are you two doing up there?”

Regina rolled her eyes playfully as she heard the loud stomping of two sets of feet above her.

“Elephants. I actually live with elephants.”

Regina chuckled to herself as she went about putting her long winter coat on as well as a scarf and leather gloves. Just as she was finished pulling on her knee high boots, both Emma and their daughter appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Regina pulled a small black coat from the closet and turned to wrap it around her daughter’s shoulders.

“There you go, my little love. Don’t forget to put your gloves on.”

“Okay, mommy.”

Regina tapped the end of the little girl’s nose with her fingertip.

“Good girl.”

The mayor turned on her heels to face her wife who was in the process of putting on her leather jacket. With two steps she closed the distance between them and then pulled at Emma’s collar with both hands until their bodies were flush together.

“The same goes for you, sheriff. Wrap up warm.”

“Gladly, madam mayor.”

Regina couldn’t help but chuckle when Emma wrapped her long arms around her shoulders and squeezed tightly.

“Mommies! I want a hug too!”

Both women looked down at their daughter who was holding her arms above her head whilst wiggling her fingers, making it clear that she wanted to be picked up. Emma pulled out of the embrace slightly in order to face the little blonde girl.

“You do?!”

A mass of blonde curls nodded excitedly in reply.

“Well get on up here then, princess.”

Emma bent down and with one arm swooped the giggling toddler up before resting her against her hip. Before joining the hug, Regina took a moment to look at her two blonde beauties. There was little doubt as to who their daughter took after more when it came to looks. Both having masses of blonde hair and almost identical eye colours.

“Come on mommy, hugs!”

“Yes, I’m coming, little one”

Regina wrapped one arm around Emma’s waist and the other around the little girl’s back. She turned her head to the side and leaned forward to capture Emma’s lips in a chaste kiss which was swiftly interrupted.

“Yuk! Mommies stop it! Kisses are yukky!”

The tiny blonde started to screech and wriggle around frantically as both of her mothers quickly covered her cheeks with sloppy kisses.

“Yukky!!!”

With one last kiss for good measure, Emma let her daughter down but kept hold of her little gloved hand.

“Come on, little bug, lets go.”

 

The three Swan Mill’s had almost walked around the whole lake before they stopped at a small bench and sat down. Emma wrapped an arm around Regina’s waist as the older woman lifted their daughter onto her lap.

“Look, duckies!”

“Oh yes, I see them, Emily. Your brother used to love coming here and feeding the ducks when he was your age.”

“Henry?”

Both women became teary eyed at the mention of their son’s name.

“That’s right, Henry. Do you remember what I told you about your big brother, Emily?”

“That he used to sing to me when I was in momma’s tummy and he loved me very much.”

“That’s right, my darling, that’s right.”

 

After sitting a little while longer, the small family had visited the diner for their evening meal before making their way home. Emma bathed their daughter whilst Regina took care of a little town business in her study. She had just finished signing some documents when she was called for.

“Mommy!!! Story time!”

Regina rolled her eyes to herself at her daughter’s yelling so loudly in the house, a rule which is often broken by both Emily and Emma. Regina quickly climbed the stairs and entered her daughter’s bedroom. Emily and Emma were already sat on the bed next to each other awaiting her arrival. She placed herself down on the bed on the other side of the little girl and kissed the top of her freshly washed hair.

“So then, my little one, which story do you want tonight?”

Little Emily looked at her blonde mother with a cheeky grin before looking up at her other mother.

“The queen and the knight.”

Regina looked over at her wife with a raised eyebrow.

“Really?”

“What?! It’s a good story, right little bug?”

“Right! Come on mommy, start the story.”

“Fine, if that’s what you want, sweetness.”

Emily wriggled down a little to be more comfortable under the covers as Regina leaned over and gave her wife a loving kiss. When they were all comfortable, Regina began.

“Once upon a time, there lived a queen who shared her castle with her beautiful knight and their two children, Princess Emily and Prince Henry…”

 


End file.
